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Keilim 3:1-2

Keilim 3:1

The minimum size of a hole that will purify a contaminated earthenware vessel that is used for food is large enough for olives to fall through; if the vessel is used for liquids, the minimum size is large enough for liquids to flow into it (when empty). If the vessel is used for both, we act stringently and require a hole sufficient for olives.

Keilim 3:2

Rabbi Shimon says the minimum size for a hole in a cask must be large enough for dried figs to pass through; Rabbi Yehuda says for walnuts and Rabbi Meir says for olives. The minimum size for a saucepan or a pot is large enough for olives. The minimum size for a jar or flask is large enough for oil to flow in. The minimum size for a cooler is large enough for water to flow in. Rabbi Shimon says that the minimum size for the jar, the flask and the cooler is large enough for seeds to fall out of. The minimum size for a lamp is large enough for oil to flow in; Rabbi Eliezer says it must be large enough for a prutah (a denomination of coin) to pass through. If the mouth of a lamp was removed, it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. A lamp of unfired clay whose mouth was baked by the wick is not susceptible to ritual impurity.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz