One who takes apart a bed in order to immerse it and [while doing so] touches the ropes remains pure. The rope: when does it begin to be considered connected with the bed? Once he knots three rows of meshes. And [if another rope was tied to this one] and a person touches it: If from the knot inwards, he becomes impure, but if from the knot outwards, he remains pure. As to the loose ends of the knot, one who touches that part which is needed for [the knot] becomes impure. And how much is needed for it? Rabbi Yehudah says: three fingerbreadths.

A rope that hangs out from a bed: If it is shorter than five tefachim [handbreadths], it is pure; if it is from five to ten tefachim long, it is impure. From ten tefachim and longer, it is pure, for it is with [this rope] that they tie paschal lambs [to the bed, to control them until Pesah], and lower down beds.

A mattress strap that hangs over the bed [is impure] whatever its length; the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: up to ten tefachim. The remnant of a mattress strap remains unclean if the length is at least seven tefachim, enough to make a donkey's saddle girth.

If he carried a zav [a male with an abnormal genital discharge] on a bed [with] its mattress strap, [the latter] causes impurity [onward] to the second degree and unfitness [onward] to the first degree; the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: if he carried a zav on a bed with its mattress strap, [if its length is up to] ten tefachim it causes impurity to the second degree and unfitness to the first degree, but if it is over ten tefachim, it causes only impurity to the first degree and unfitness to the first degree. If he carried [a zav] on the mattress strap [but the zav did not touch the actual bed], [if the strap is] shorter than ten tefachim, it becomes impure, but if it was longer than ten tefachim, it remains pure.

If a bed had midras impurity and one wrapped a mattress strap around it, the whole becomes impure through midras impurity. If he removed it, the bed remains impure through midras impurity, but the mattress strap is impure only from contact with midras impurity. If it had seven-day impurity [from exposure to a corpse] and one wrapped a mattress strap around it, the whole becomes impure from seven-day impurity. If he removed it, the bed remains impure through seven-day impurity, but the mattress strap is impure [only] until the evening. If the bed was impure until evening, and he wrapped a mattress strap around it, the whole becomes impure until evening. If he removed it, the bed remains impure until evening, but the mattress strap becomes pure.

If he wrapped a mattress strap around a bed, and a corpse touched them, they become impure from seven-day impurity. If they are taken apart, they are still impure from seven-day impurity. If a sheretz [one of a number of creeping creatures mentioned in the Torah as causing impurity] touched them, they are impure until evening. If they are taken apart, they are still impure until evening. If a bed [which is impure] has its two longer sides removed, and two new ones made for it, but its original sockets were not changed - if the new sides become broken, the bed remains impure, but if the old ones were broken, it becomes pure, since everything depends on the old ones.

A box whose opening is at the top is susceptible to corpse impurity. If it was damaged above, it is still susceptible to corpse impurity. If it was damaged below, it becomes pure. The compartments within it remain impure, and are not regarded as connected to it.

A shepherd's bag whose pocket was damaged, [the pocket] within it retains its impurity and [the set of pouches within] is not regarded as connected to it. If a skin vessel has scrotal sacs that serve also as receptacles and they were damaged, they become pure, since they will no longer serve their original purpose.

A box whose opening is at its side is susceptible to both midras impurity and corpse impurity. Rabbi Yose said: When does this apply? When it is less than ten tefachim in height or when it does not have a rim one tefach deep. If it was damaged above, it is still susceptible to corpse impurity. If it was damaged below: Rabbi Meir declares it susceptible to impurity. But the Sages declare it pure, because if its primary function is annulled, the secondary one is also annulled.

A dung-basket that was damaged so that it will not hold pomegranates: Rabbi Meir declares it susceptible to impurity, but the Sages say that it is pure, because if its primary function is annulled, the secondary one is also annulled.