A smooth wooden block that is not higher than a handbreadth is pure, and [as to] that which is higher than a handbreadth, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Shimon render it impure, [and] Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok render it pure. Said Rabbi Meir, it so happened that there was someone who tied together two fronds of a date-palm [which together were higher than a handbreadth] in order to sit on it, and that incident came before the sages, and they declared it impure. Said Rabbi Shimon, it so happened that there was someone that brought a stump of an olive tree, which had been smoothed down like a cupboard, before Rabbi Akiva, and he said, "I used to sit on the like," and he declared it impure for him. His students were in disbelief. He said to them, "Why are you in disbelief? Rabbi Yehoshua declared [something even] worse than this impure!" Said Rabbi Yosei, it so happened with four elders, that they were sitting in secret (cheresh) before Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah in Tzippori: Rabbi Chutzpit, and Rabbi Yeshevav, and Rabbi Chalafta, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri,* and he brought before them the end of one beam that had been removed [from the rest of the beam] with a chisel. And he said, "I was sitting down on this." And they declared it pure for him. Said Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Tzadok, ends of beams were on the Temple Mount, on which artisans would sit and smooth down stones, and the Sages were not concerned for them on account of impurity. And so too would Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Tzadok say, two blocks of wood were in the house of my father, one impure and one pure. I said before my father, "Why is this one impure and that one pure?" He said to me, "The one that is carved out is impure, and the one that is not carved out is pure. And on that one sat Chaggai the Prophet." And as to all of them, if they did not intend to carve them out (i.e., make them concave), they are pure. [If] he found them carved out and considered them [to be objects for sitting], they contract impurity from that point forward. [If] a deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor considered them [to be objects for sitting], or [if] a person to whom they did not belong [considered them as such], they are pure.

A wooden block* that the priests use for kneading [their dough], and so too the wooden block* for a cooking-pot (i.e., upon which the pot is placed after being removed from the fire): If they are carved out (i.e., made concave), and can hold even the smallest amount [of liquid], they are impure, and if not, they are pure. It so happened with the butcher of Onkelos the Convert, that he brought his [butcher's] block* before Rabban Gamaliel, and there were eighty-five elders sitting there. Rabban Gamaliel took it and examined it, and handed it to the one next next to him, and that one to the one next to him. When he saw that no one said anything [regarding its purity status], he removed a thread from the linen cloak of a student who was sitting before him, and stretched it out [across the block] and found that it was ever so slightly concave, and declared it impure for him. If they did not intend to carve them out, they are pure. [If] he found them carved out and considered them [to be objects for preparing food upon], they contract impurity from that point forward. [If] a deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor considered them [to be objects for preparing foods upon], or [if] a person to whom they did not belong [considered them as such], they are pure.

The trimmings of a mishkav (an object used for lying down): They cannot [contract impurity] if they are less than three by three [handbreadths], and of a moshav (an object used for sitting), one handbreadth, and of a stand, any amount. Of wood: [It is pure] until one makes it concave or until one makes legs for it. A ball, and a shoemaker's last, and an amulet, and tefillin, and a round cushion that were torn: [If] they form a receptacle [large enough to hold] what is [typically] inside them, they are impure. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha says in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, they must be immersed [if they form a receptacle] in any amount.

A saddle possesses riding-impurity, and its wooden grip (i.e., which is fastened to a saddle to grasp while mounting) possesses riding-impurity, and [as to] the remainder of the saddle-attachments that are on the sides, if their width is a handbreadth, they are impure. Rabbi Shimon says, three for sitting [impurity] and three for riding [impurity]. An Ashkelon donkey-belt, a Medean saddle, and the wooden grip -- these are the three for riding. The seat for a female camel and a horse, and a saddle -- these are the three for sitting. The bed, the basket-saddle, and the cushion of one who has died: Rabbi Meir says, they do not impart midras-impurity, and the Sages say, they do impart midras-impurity because women sit on them and weep for their dead, and all agree that they are impure with corpse-impurity. There are three [types of] beds (see Kel. 24:8): One that is made for lying upon possesses midras-impurity. One upon which vessels are sold possesses corpse-impurity. And that of the rectangular bed-frames of Levites is completely pure (Kel. 18:3). There are three [types of] cots: One that is made for lying upon possesses midras-impurity. One that is used by daughters possesses corpse-impurity. And that used for potters' moldings is completely pure. There are three [types of] hairnets (see Kel. 24:16): That of an old woman possesses midras-impurity. That of a young girl possesses corpse-impurity. One that is torn and cannot hold most of the hair is completely pure. There are three types of sandals: That of a man possesses midras-impurity. That of [molten] metal or of an animal possesses corpse-impurity. And that of cork or goat's hair is completely pure. Rabbi Yosei says, all whips are pure. And the Sages say, there are three types of whips: That of trappers of wild animals possesses midras-impurity. And that of trappers of birds possesses corpse-impurity. And that of fig-pickers is completely pure. Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Tzadok says, the cup of a balance possesses corpse-impurity, and a patch on the inside rim of a kettle, whether it is punctured or whether it is not punctured, is impure; on the outside, if it is punctured it is impure, and if it is not punctured, it is pure. A patch on its side from the inside: [If] it is punctured, it is impure, and if it is not punctured, it is pure. From the outside: Whether punctured or not punctured, it is pure.