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The Gemara on our daf teaches that there are some types of utensils that do not become ritually defiled, neither on a Biblical nor on a Rabbinic level. These are klei avanim, klei gelalim and klei adama, which retain their “earthiness” and are not considered to be full-fledged utensils that would render them important enough to become tameh.
Klei avanim are stone utensils. Klei adama are utensils made from earth. Some explain that they are made from stones that have been sanded down, others suggest that they are earthenware that never was placed in a furnace to be finished. Klei gelalim may be made from a large stone that can only be moved by rolling; others suggest that these are made from animal excrement.
In this context the Gemara brings a question posed by Rami bar Ḥama – if an elephant swallows a kefifah Mitzrit – an Egyptian wicker basket – and excretes it whole, is it considered klei gelalim to the extent that it would no longer be considered tameh?
While the Gemara rejects this possibility, it does consider whether if the elephant ate the reeds themselves and then excretes them that they may be considered gelalim so that a basket made from them would be considered klei gelalim.
We explore the other reference to Rav Adda bar Abba in Bava Metzia and his controversial life.