Parah Chapter 12

(1) The short hyssop [which is not long enough to reach the bottom of the vessel containing the chatat waters], one should provide it with string or a rod and dip it, and raise it [out], and hold the hyssop and sprinkle with it. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon say: Just as sprinkling must be [done] with the hyssop, so too dipping must be [done] with the hyssop.

(2) If one sprinkled, but there is a doubt as to whether [he sprinkled] from the string or from the rod [used to lengthen the short hyssop], or from the stalk [of the hyssop itself], his sprinkling is invalid. If one sprinkled onto two vessels, but there is a doubt as to whether he sprinkled on both of them [from the hyssop], or [that the water on one of them splashed] from its fellow [vessel] and onto it, his sprinkling is invalid. A needle which was placed on earthenware, if one sprinkled onto it, but there is a doubt as to whether he sprinkled on the needle, or [that the water splashed] from the earthenware onto it, his sprinkling is invalid [i.e. the needle remains impure]. A flask with a narrow mouth [containing chatat water], one dips [the hyssop in] and raises it out as usual. Rabbi Yehuda says: [only] the first sprinkling [can be done regularly; but for later sprinklings, there is a concern that hyssop will stick in the mouth of the flask and only absorb from the walls, and there might not be a proper dipping]. Chatat waters which became diminished [i.e. started running out], one dips even the tips of the stalks, and sprinkles, as long as it is not absorbing [water from the sides or bottom of the vessel, since there must be dipping]. If one intended to sprinkle forward and he sprinkled backwards, [or] backwards and he sprinkled forwards, his sprinkling is invalid; forward and he sprinkled to the sides in front of him, his sprinkling is valid. A person maybe be sprinkled, whether with his awareness, or without it. We sprinkle on a person and on vessels, even a hundred [in one sprinkling, so long as some water reaches them, with the sprinkler's intention].

(3) If one intended to sprinkle on something that can retain impurity, and he sprinkled on something that cannot retain impurity, if there is [still some of the sanctified water] in the hyssop, he need not repeat [his dipping, before going to sprinkle the rest of the water onto other things or people]. If [one intended to sprinkle] onto something that cannot retain impurity, and he sprinkled on something that can retain impurity, [even] if there is [still some water] in the hyssop, he must repeat [his dipping, before sprinkling again]. If [one intended to sprinkle] onto a person, and he sprinkled onto an animal, if there is [still some of the sanctified water] in the hyssop, he need not repeat [his dipping]. If [he intended] onto an animal, and he sprinkled onto a person, [even] if there is [still some water] in the hyssop, he must repeat. The waters that drip [from the hyssop, if it was dipped for sprinkling onto something that cannot retain purity,] they are valid [for sprinkling, if they fall into a pure vessel, and if one then dips the hyssop into them for sprinkling]; therefore they cause impurity as chatat waters [which render impure those who carry or touch them].

(4) One who sprinkles [onto another individual] from a public window, and he [the sprinkled individual, assuming he has been purified,] enters the temple, and [subsequently] the waters [he was sprinkled with] are found to have been invalid, he is exempt. [One who sprinkles] from a private window, and [the sprinkled individual then] enters the temple, and [subsequently] the waters are found to have been invalid, he is liable. But a high priest, whether [he was sprinkled with waters] from a private window or from a public window, he is exempt, for the high priest is not liable for entering the temple [impure]. They used to slip [on the left over chatat waters spilled] in front of the public window, and they would trample it, but they did not refrain [from doing so, and from entering the temple afterwards], for they said: Chatat waters that have done their mitzva do not cause impurity.

(5) One who is pure can grasp an impure axe in a fold of his clothing and have one sprinkle onto it. Even if [after the sprinkling] it has on it a [sufficient] amount of water for sprinkling, he is pure. [Generally carrying chatat waters renders one impure, but in this case the waters have already done their mitzva, as noted in the previous Mishna.] And how much must the waters be in order to be an amount for sprinkling? [Enough] that one may dip the tips of the stalks and sprinkle. Rabbi Yehuda says: We view them as if they were on a hyssop of copper [i.e. we also take into account water which has been absorbed and is no longer visible, since copper does not absorb].

(6) One who sprinkles with an impure hyssop, if it has [the volume] equivalent to an egg, the waters are invalid, and his sprinkling is invalid. If it does not have [the volume] equivalent to an egg, the waters are valid, and his sprinkling is invalid. And it renders its fellow [hyssop] impure, and its fellow [renders] its fellow [impure], even if there are a hundred of them.

(7) One who is pure for chatat, and whose hands became impure, his body becomes impure, and he renders impure his fellow, and his fellow [renders impure] his fellow, even if there are a hundred of them.

(8) A jug of chatat [waters] whose outsides became impure, its inside [subsequently] becomes impure, and it renders its fellow [jug] impure, and its fellow [renders impure] its fellow, even of there are a hundred of them. The bell and the clapper are [considered] joined [for purity purposes and for sprinkling, and thus if one becomes impure so does the other, and sprinkling on one purifies the other]. A spindle for ruban [a kind of reed, used for weaving mats], one [who wishes to purify the spindle] should not sprinkle [only] on the rod or on the weight; and if one sprinkled [on one of them], it is a [valid] sprinkling [and the entire spindle is rendered pure]. A [spindle] for flax, [the parts are considered] joined. The leather [lining] of a cradle that is attached to its buttons, is [considered] joined. The frame [of a bed] is not [considered] joined, neither for impurity nor for purity. All the drilled handles of vessels [i.e. hollowed out handles, where part of the vessel sticks into them] are [considered] joined. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says: even the inserted [i.e. the handles which are themselves pointed and are stuck into a hole in the vessel, they too are considered joined, according to Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri].

(9) The baskets of a pack saddle, a threshing couch, the corner of a coffin, travelers' [water] horns, a key chain, the stitches of launderers [who would stitch together pieces of clothing for washing, to prevent them from separating], and a piece of clothing sown together with Kilayim, [these are all considered] joined for impurity, but not joined for sprinkling.

(10) The cover of a kettle which is connected to a chain, Beit Shammai say: it is joined for impurity but not for sprinkling; Beit Hillel say: if he sprinkles onto the kettle he has sprinkled on the cover [i.e. the cover also becomes pure], but if he sprinkles on the cover, he has not sprinkled on the kettle. Anyone is valid to sprinkle, except for a tumtum [person (or animal) with recessed sexual organs whose gender is therefore impossible to determine, presently, by external examination. It is halachically uncertain whether such is male or female], an androginos [person (or animal) with both male and female sexual organs. It is halachically uncertain whether such is male, female or, perhaps, has a uniquely defined halachic gender], a woman, and a child that does not possess understanding. A woman may assist in the sprinkling, and she can hold the water while he dips and sprinkles. If she held his hand [during the process], even at the time of sprinkling [and not just the dipping], it is invalid.

(11) If one dipped the hyssop by day and sprinkled by day, it is valid. By day and sprinkled by night, [or] by night and sprinkled by day, it is invalid. But he himself can immerse at night and sprinkle by day, for we do not sprinkle until the sunrise. And anything done from dawn onward is valid.