• כלי שרת מטמאין יעשו בטומאה

The next Mishnah states, נטמא קהל או רובו – If the community or its majority became tamei, או שהיו הכהנים טמאים והקהל טהורים – or the Kohanim were tamei and the community was tahor, יעשו בטומאה – they all make the pesach offering in tumah. The Gemara brings a Baraisa that teaches, ואפילו ישראל והכהנים טהורין וכלי שרת טמאין יעשו בטומאה שאין קרבן צבור חלוק – even if the majority of the Jews and the Kohanim were tahor but the klei shareis were tamei, all the people, whether tahor or tamei, make the offering in tumah because a communal offering brought in tumah is not divided. Rav Chisda said that this only applies שנטמא הסכין בטמא מת – where the knife or other kli became tamei through contact with someone who had contact with a meis. The knife is then metamei the one who is doing the shechting, so that when the pesach offering is made, בטומאת הגוף דכרת קא מתעביד – it is made by people who are in a state of body tumah who would be subject to kares if not for the special dispensation that applies to communal tumah. Since the avodah of the pesach is being done by people whose bodies are tamei, those who were previously tamei may also participate in it. This din does not apply if the kli was touched by a sheretz since it is not metamei the people bringing the korban and they remain tahor. Therefore, those who are tamei may not join them. Rava disagrees and says that it also applies in the case of a sheretz.

• אם מחצה על מחצה נחשב כרוב

There is a machlokes in a case where the Jews were evenly divided with half of them tahor and half of them tamei. Rav says, מחצה על מחצה כרוב –A case of half and half is treated like a majority. The Gemara explains, הללו עושין לעצמן והללו עושין לעצמן – the tahor ones make the pesach offerings by themselves and the tamei ones make the pesach offering themselves. Rav Kahana said, מחצה על מחצה אינו כרוב – In a case of half and half, each segment is not treated like a majority. The Gemara explains, טהורין עושין את ראשון וטמאין עושין את השני – Those who are tahor make the first pesach offering, since a minority group of tahorim are never exempt from making the first pesach. Those who are tamei make the pesach sheini.

The Gemara brings a second version of Rav Kahana’s position that those who are tamei make neither the first or second pesach. They do not make the first pesach because they are not the majority which would allow them to bring it in tumah, and they do not make the second pesach because they are not the minority.

• נשים משלימות לטמאים

The Gemara brings Baraisos that support Rav’s position and the two versions of Rav Kahana’s position. The middle Baraisa supports the first version of Rav Kahana that the tamei half is deferred to Pesach Sheini and the Gemara asks how Rav and the second version of Rav Kahana would explain it. The Gemara answers that the case was where they were evenly divided between tahor and tamei but the majority of men were tahor, ונשים משלימות לטמאים, and when the women were included in the count they filled in the missing number of tamei people and brought the total to exactly half, and the Tanna of this Baraisa holds נשים בראשון רשות, the participation of the women in the first pesach is optional. Therefore, you must subtract the women from the count of those who are tamei, with the result that those who are tamei are actually the minority of the ones who are counted, and the rule is that the minority is deferred to Pesach Sheini.

Siman – Pen (Sofer with a quill). The senior scribes were busy counting how many keilim had become tamei from a meis vs. a sheretz while the rookie scribes who counted half the people tahor and the other half tamei were in a quandary whether to include the women.