Which vessels require immersion and which are exempt: metal, glass and lead-coated vessels, כלי סעודה and composite vessels, purchase, borrowing, renting, pledge, craftsman, partnership and seizure, the mikveh of forty se'ah, the berakha, the handles and the rust (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 120 — 16 seifim)
הקונה מהעובד כוכבים כלי סעודה של מתכו׳ או של זכוכית או כלים המצופים באבר מבפנים אף על פי שהם חדשים צריך להטבילם במקוה או מעיין של ארבעים סאה
One who buys from a non-Jew meal vessels of metal, or of glass, or vessels coated with lead on the inside — even though they are new — must immerse them in a mikveh or a spring of forty se'ah.
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 120:1LEVEL 01
The Hebrew text of the 16 seifim with a fluent English translation. Which materials require tevila, the כלי סעודה criterion, borrowing and pledges, the berakha and the mikveh — explained step by step with concrete examples.
📖 StudyLEVEL 02
In-depth pilpul: the reason for tevila in the ט״ז ס״ק א, the machloket over Torah law versus rabbinic law facing the רמב״ם, the hakira about the עיקר of a composite vessel (seifim 6 and 7), the definition of a משכון and the question of the אומן, with the ש״ך and the ט״ז.
📖 StudyLEVEL 03
Three master grids (materials, use, mode of acquisition), golden rules, the « טבילה » mnemonic, classic pitfalls and a line-by-line recap of the 16 seifim.
📖 StudyLEVEL 04
The practical halacha according to the ש״ך, the ט״ז and the פתחי תשובה, then the later poskim, applied to new tableware from the shop, electrical appliances, disposable vessels and immersing while travelling. Note: the Admur HaZaken wrote no Shulchan Aruch on Yoreh De'ah — this is a psak level, not “Daat HaRav”.
📖 StudyAccording to the Shulchan Aruch (YD 120:1), one who buys from a non-Jew meal vessels of metal, or of glass, or vessels coated with lead on the inside, must immerse them in a mikveh or a spring of forty se'ah — even if they are brand new. The Rama adds that lead-coated vessels, even on the inside, are immersed without a berakha, and such is the custom. Bare wood, stone and earthenware require nothing (רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ז הלכה ו). For halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
No: according to seif 8, one who borrows (שואל) or rents (שוכר) a vessel from a non-Jew need not immerse it, since it is not לקוח — the gemara teaches « לֹא שָׁנוּ אֶלָּא בִּלְקוּחִין… אֲבָל שְׁאוּלִין » (עבודה זרה ע״ה ע״ב). But if a Jew bought it from the non-Jew and then lent it to another Jew, immersion is required: the obligation already arose in the first one's hand. And according to the Rama, if a second Jew buys it from him for meal use, the obligation falls on the second. For halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
According to seif 3, one blesses על טבילת כלי for a single vessel and על טבילת כלים for two or more. The Shach cites poskim who say על טבילת כלי מתכות (ש״ך יו״ד ק״כ ס״ק ח), and the Taz questions this (ט״ז יו״ד ק״כ ס״ק ה). In every doubtful case — a coated vessel, a shechita knife, a pledge of uncertain outcome, a vessel made by a craftsman — the Shach's constant reflex is to immerse without a berakha, or to immerse the doubtful vessel together with one that is certainly obligated. For halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
A mikveh or spring of forty se'ah is required (seif 1). The vessel must be loose in the hand (רפוי בידו): gripped tightly, that is a חציצה; if one first wet one's hand there is no concern, and the Rama specifies: in mikveh water, not in drawn water (seif 2). One must immerse the handles (ידי הכלי) (seif 12) and remove the rust (חלודה) beforehand; what remains and cannot be removed is a מיעוטו שאינו מקפיד and does not interpose (seif 13). For halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
According to seif 16, one gives it as a gift to a non-Jew and then borrows it back — and it may be used, since a borrowed vessel requires no immersion. The Rama adds that one may do the same on a weekday where there is no mikveh, and that if one transgressed and used the vessel without immersion, what was prepared in it did not become forbidden — one immerses it afterwards. The Taz stresses that this expedient is only a temporary measure (ט״ז יו״ד ק״כ ס״ק י״ח). For halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.