Keilim 5:1-2

Keilim 5:1

An earthenware oven is susceptible to ritual impurity only if it was originally at least four handbreadths tall (about a foot) and, if broken, its pieces are at least four handbreadths tall; this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir. The Sages say that this is only the case with a large oven but when it comes to a small oven, its original height can be anything and the pieces must be the major part of it. “Originally” means from the culmination of its construction, which is when the oven has been heated enough to bake sponge cake in it. Rabbi Yehuda says that its construction is complete when the new oven has been heated enough to bake sponge cake in an old oven (which is a lower temperature).

Keilim 5:2

In order to be susceptible to ritual impurity, a stove must be three finger-widths high and, if broken, its pieces must be three finger-widths high. It becomes susceptible from the culmination of its construction, which is when it is heated enough to scramble a hen’s egg in a pan on it. If a mini-stove was made for baking, the rule is the same as for an oven; if it was made for cooking, the rule is the same as for a regular stove. If a stone protrudes from an oven for up to one handbreadth (about three inches) or from a stove for up to three fingerwidths, it is considered an attachment (like a handle, and anything beyond this is not susceptible to ritual impurity). If it protrudes from a mini-stove, then if the mini-stove was made for baking, the rule is the same as for an oven, and if it was made for cooking, the rule is the same as for a stove. Rabbi Yehuda says that the handbreadth of a protruding stone in the case of an oven is only when it’s between the oven and the wall. If two ovens were next to one another and connected by a protruding stone, then a handbreadth of it is assigned to each and any remainder is not susceptible to ritual impurity.