Ohalos 9:13-14

Ohalos 9:13

If the hive was resting on its base and it was a usable utensil, then if there was impurity beneath it, inside it or above it, the ritual uncleanliness extends both upwards and downwards. If it was a handbreadth off the ground (about 3”), covered or rotated onto its opening, then if there’s impurity beneath it, inside it or above it, everything is rendered unclean.

Ohalos 9:14

The rule in mishna 9:13 only applies when the hive is a usable utensil. If it’s missing pieces and patched with straw – or, according to the Sages, if it could hold 40 seah (about 140 gallons) – then if the impurity is beneath it, inside it or above it, the impurity extends upwards and downwards. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say that impurity doesn’t ascend into such a hive, nor does it descend from it. If it was a handbreadth off the ground, then if there’s impurity beneath it, what is below is rendered unclean. If the impurity is inside it or above it, then everything directly above it is rendered unclean all the way up to the sky.