''Keilim ''or ''Kelim'' (, literally "Vessels") is the first tractate in the Order of Tohorot in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

. It contains thirty chapters, making it the longest tractate in the Mishnah. The

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

on Keilim consists of twenty-five chapters,
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: * Z. Frankel,
Hodegetica in Mischnam
', p. 263, Leipsic, 1859. divided into ''Bava Kama'' ("First Gate"), ''Bava Metzia'' ("Middle Gate"), and ''Bava Batra'' ("Final Gate") of ''Keilim''. The tractate discusses the laws of ritual purity and impurity pertaining to all types of vessels. * Chapter 1 clarifies the ranking of ritual impurities * Chapters 2–10 discuss

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

vessels ( clay ovens, etc.) * Chapters 11–14 discuss

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

vessels * Chapters 15–19 discuss vessels made of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

, and

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

* Chapters 20–25 discuss laws of purity and impurity for vessels * Chapters 26–28 discuss laws pertaining to leather and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

* Chapter 29 discusses the seams of clothing and vessels * Chapter 30 discusses

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

vessels. There is no

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

for ''Keilim'' in either the Babylonian or

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

. ArtScroll Mishnah Series has published a two-volume series explaining all of Mishnayot Keilim in English with many full-color illustrations.

References

{{Authority control Jewish ritual purity law