Siman - Chagigah Daf 26

• Thieves are believed to say the keilim they are returning are tahor

The next Mishnah states: הגבאין שנכנסו לתוך הבית וכן הגנבים שהחזירו את הכלים – The tax collectors who entered into a house, and similarly, the thieves who returned clay vessels they stole, נאמנין לומר לא נגענו – are believed to say, “We did not touch them.” Rashi clarifies that they are believed regarding kodesh, but not terumah. The Gemara brings a Mishnah from Taharos that seems to contradict this last din, that states: הגנבים שנכנסו לתוך הבית אינו טמא אלא מקום דריסת רגלי הגנבים – If the thieves entered the house, only the objects in the places where they walked are tamei, referring to the areas where items were definitely stolen. If the keilim in the places they walked are presumed tamei, then certainly the keilim that they stole and returned are presumed tamei!? Rav Pinchas said in the name of Rava, כשעשו תשובה – Our Mishnah is dealing with the case where the thieves did teshuvah. Rashi explains that since they are returning the keilim as an act of teshuvah, they certainly would not lie about the tumah status.

•  If merchants are permitted to sell their leftover wine or dough after the regel

The next Mishnah states: הפותח את חביתו והמתחיל בעיסתו על גב הרגל – If a chaver who opens his barrel of wine to sell or begins selling a new batch of dough in Yerushalayim on the chag, and some of it remains after the chag, Rebbe Yehudah says: יגמור – he may finish selling it after the chag, but the Chochomim say that he may not finish selling it after the chag. Rashi explains that the machlokes centers on the fact that during the chag, amei ha’aretz handle the wine and dough. The Chochomim hold that even though the Rabbanon suspended the tumah of amei ha’aretz, since during the chag the amei ha’aretz are considered chaverim, after the regel, retroactively the wine and dough become tamei due to their touching it, and chaverim are prohibited from selling it. Even though Rebbe Yehudah agrees that that the wine and dough are tamei, he permits the sale of the leftovers after the regel, for if the merchants were not permitted to do so, they might be reluctant to sell during the chag, which would make it difficult for the olei regalim to get wine and dough during the regel.

•  The Shulchan could become tamei from the amei ha’aretz

The final Mishnah of the masechta details how the keilim in the Beis Hamikdash were purified after the regel. The Mishnah states: ואומרין להם הזהרו שלא תגעו בשלחן – All through the chag they would say to the Kohanim who were amei ha’aretz, “Be careful not to touch the Shulchan.” Rashi explains that the Shulchan cannot be removed, for the passuk states: ונתת על השלחן לחם פנים לפני תמיד – And you shall place on the Shulchan, lechem panim before Me, continuously. The Gemara questions whether the Shulchan can become tamei at all, since it is a כלי עץ העשוי לנחת הוא – a wooden kli that is made to be stationary, and the din is that such keilim do not become tamei. The reason is that for a kli to be mekabel tumah it must be similar to a sack. Just as a sack is carried מלא וריקם – full and empty, so too must any kli be carried full and empty. The Gemara answers that the Shulchan is carried full and empty, for Reish Lakish taught the Shulchan would be lifted, and the breads displayed to the olei regalim, and the Kohanim would say: ראו חביתכם לפני המקום סילוקו כסידורו – “See your belovedness before the Omnipresent, for the bread at the time of the removal is as hot and fresh as it was at the time of being placed on the Shulchan the previous Shabbos. Since the Shulchan was made to be carried while laden, it could be mekabel tumah from amei ha’aretz.