A ziz-type ledge on top of a doorway spreads tumah if it is a handbreadth wide. [If] it is on top of a ‘‘two-fingerbreadths window’’ [or] on a ‘‘gimlet window,’’ it has no minimum size. R’ Yose says: [It must be] equal in size.

A rod that is on top of a doorway, even if it is one hundred cubits high, spreads tu-mah no matter how narrow it is, these are the words of R’ Yehoshua. R’ Yochanan ben Nuri says: Do not treat this any stricter than a ledge.

A ziz-type ledge encircles the entire house and overlaps three fingerbreadths of the doorway. If tumah is inside the house, utensils underneath [the ledge] become tamei. [If] tumah is underneath [the ledge], R’ Eliezer rules the house tamei, and R’ Yehoshua rules the house tahor. The same applies to a courtyard surrounded by an awning.

There are two ledges, one above the other, each a handbreadth wide, and there is a cubed handbreadth between them. [If there is] tumah underneath them, whatever is underneath them becomes tamei. [If there is tumah] between them, whatever is be-tween them becomes tamei. [If there is tumah] above them, whatever is directly above it, up to the sky, becomes tamei. [If] the upper one extends beyond the lower one by a handbreadth, and tu-mah is underneath or between them, whatever is underneath or between them be-comes tamei; [if there is tumah] above them, directly above it, up to the sky, becomes tamei. [If] the upper one extends beyond the lower one by less than a handbreadth, and tumah is underneath them, whatever is underneath them or between them be-comes tamei. [If there is tumah] between them or beneath the extension, R’ Eliezer says: Whatever is underneath them or between them becomes tamei. R’ Yehoshua says: Whatever is between them and whatever is underneath the extension becomes tamei, but whatever is underneath [the ledges themselves] remains tahor.

[In a case where the ledges] are a handbreadth wide and there is no handbreadth between them, if tumah is underneath them, underneath them becomes tamei. [If there is tumah] between them or above them, opposite it, up to the sky, becomes tamei.

[If the ledges] are less than a handbreadth wide, tumah penetrates upward and downward regardless of whether there is a handbreadth between them or not [and regardless of] whether tumah is underneath, between, or above them. The same rule applies to two curtains that are a cubed handbreadth above the ground.

A thick garment and a thick beam do not spread tumah unless they are a hand-breadth above the ground. [If two garments] are folded one on top of the other, tumah does not spread unless the upper one is more than a handbreadth above the ground. Wooden tablets, one above the other, do not spread tumah unless the up-permost one is a handbreadth above the ground. But if they are made of marble, tumah penetrates directly up and directly down.

[In the case of] wooden tablets, a handbreadth above the ground, that touch one another at their corners and there is tumah underneath one [tablet], someone who touches the other [tablet] becomes tamei for seven days. Utensils underneath the first tablet become tamei, whereas those under the second remain tahor. A tabletop does not spread tumah unless [it extends beyond] its base by a handbreadth.

[In the case of] barrels that are outdoors, standing upright or lying on their sides, which touch one another by a square handbreadth, [if there is] tumah underneath one [barrel], tumah penetrates directly up and directly down. In what case does this apply? When [the barrels] are tahor. However, if they are tamei, or a handbreadth above the ground, and there is tumah under one of them, [the area] beneath all of them becomes tamei.

[In the case of] a house divided by boards or curtains from the sides or from the joists, [if there is] tumah inside the house, utensils inside the partitioned section re-main tahor. [If there is] tumah inside the partitioned section, utensils inside the house become tamei. When there are utensils inside the partitioned section, if there is a cubed handbreadth, they become tamei; if not, they remain tahor.

[When] the partition is built on the floor and tumah is inside the partitioned sec-tion, utensils inside the house become tamei. When tumah is inside the house and utensils are inside the partitioned section, if the area containing the utensils is a handbreadth by a handbreadth and a handbreadth high, [the utensils] remain tahor. If not, they become tamei, because the floor of the house, as deep as one can go, is like the house.

[In the case of] a house full of straw where there is less than a cubed handbreadth between [the straw] and the joists and tumah is in the inner area, utensils near the exit become tamei. [If] tumah is in the outer area, and utensils are in the inner area — if the [inner] area is a handbreadth by a handbreadth and a handbreadth high, [the utensils remain] tahor; and if not, they become tamei. [However,] if there is a cubed handbreadth between the straw and the joists, [the utensils] become tamei in all circumstances.

[If] a house was filled with earth or pebbles that were abandoned [or with] a pile of grain or a mound of pebbles, even like the mound of Achan, tumah penetrates directly up and directly down, even if the tumah is near the utensils.

Someone who stands in the courtyard of a catacomb is tahor as long as it is four cu-bits, according to Beis Shammai’s opinion. Beis Hillel say: Four handbreadths. [If] a beam was used as a cover for a grave, whether it is standing upright or lying on its side, nothing becomes tamei except what is opposite the opening [of the grave]. [If] one end [of the beam] was made into a golel for a grave, only four hand-breadths of the beam become tamei, provided that the rest is going to be chopped off. R’ Yehudah says: It is all regarded as one unit.

Someone who touches a tightly sealed barrel full of tahor liquid that was made into a cover for a grave becomes tamei for seven [days]. [However,] the barrel and the liquid remain tahor. Someone who touches an animal used as a cover for a grave becomes tamei for seven days. R’ Meir says: A living being does not transmit tumah as a cover.