- Two cases in the Mishnah where there is a concern of chatzitzah
The Gemara asks for the Mishnah’s reason that one may not immerse one kli within another kli for the purposes of kodesh, and Rebbe Ila said: מפני שכבידו של כלי חוצץ – Because the weight of the inner kli creates a chatzitzah between the water and the keilim. The Gemara questions this, since the seifa of the Mishnah teaches שבקדש מתיר ומנגיב ומטביל ואחר כך קושר – that for kodesh, one must untie the knots, dry, immerse the garment and then retie the knots, and the reason for this is because the knots would create a chatzitzah. This suggests that the reisha (the case of immersing one kli inside another) is not due to chatzitzah!? The Gemara answers that in fact both cases are due to concerns of creating a chatzitzah, and it was necessary for the Tanna to teach both cases. For if only the first case of immersing one kli within the other was taught, one might think משום כבידו של כלי דאיכא – that the chatzitzah is because of the weight of the kli, and therefore, the knots which are tied loosely and have no weight, would not be a chatzitzah. And if the only the case of the knots was taught, then one might have thought that it is because the knot is tight in the water and does not become loosened, but in the case of the keilim, the water causes the inner kli to float and therefore there would be no problem of chatzitzah.
- עשר מעלות שנו כאן
The Gemara notes that Rebbe Ila, who said that the reason that one may not immerse one kli within another is due to it being a chatzitzah, is consistent with another statement he made in the name of Rebbe Chanina bar Pappa: עשר מעלות שנו כאן – They taught here in the Mishnah ten ma’alos, meaning, higher levels of stringency, that were decreed for kodesh and not for terumah. Rashi explains that Rebbe Ila only counts ten ma’alos when the Mishnah listed eleven cases. This indicates that he holds that two of the cases are for the same reason, that being chatzitzah. His statement continues that the first five apply to kodesh, and chullin שנעשו על טהרת הקדש – that were prepared according to the taharah standard of kodesh, and the last five apply only to kodesh. The reason is that for the first five, דאית להו דררא דטומאה מדאורייתא – that have a concern of tumah d’Oraysa, the Rabbanon decreed for both kodesh, and chullin שנעשו על טהרת קודש. The latter five cases do not involve tumah d’Oraysa, and therefore, the Rabbanon did not decree them on חולין שנעשו על טהרת קודש.
- Rava’s explanation for why one may not immerse one kli inside another for kodesh
Rava disagrees with Rebbe Ila and says that since the seifa of the Mishnah deals with a concern of chatzitzah, the reisha does not. Rather, the reason one must not immerse one kli inside another for kodesh is a גזירה שלא יטביל מחטין וצינורות בכלי שאין בפיו כשפופרת הנוד – it is a gezeirah so that one should not immerse needles and spinning hooks within a kli whose opening is not at least the size of a flask skin tube. Rashi explains that if the opening of the outer kli is smaller than this tube, then the water inside is not considered mixed with the outer waters of the mikveh, and the needles and hooks will not be considered to have had a valid immersion in a mikveh.
