And every open vessel that has no cover fastened around it is unclean.
Torah Temimah: Sifrei — “Tzamid” — this is the stopper; “pathil” — this is the surrounding [seal]. And although there is no [full] proof for the matter, there is a mnemonic: “and Yisrael joined themselves to Baal Peor” (Balak).
English: “Tzamid” — this is the stopper; “pathil” — this is the surrounding [seal]. And although there is no [full] proof for the matter, there is a mnemonic: “and Yisrael joined themselves to Baal Peor.”
Definition of the two terms that constitute a protective seal.
A vessel is protected from tent-impurity only when it has both a stopper (tzamid) and a surrounding seal (pathil).