Niddah 58

אשה שיצתה מלאה ובאה ריקנית והביאה לפנינו שלשה שבועין טהורין ועשרה שבועות אחד טמא ואחד טהור משמשת לאור שלשים וחמש ומטבילין אותה תשעים וחמש טבילות דברי ב"ש

If a woman who departed in a condition of pregnancy<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'who went out full'. ');">¹</span>

וב"ה אומרים

and returned<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' After some considerable time. ');">²</span>

שלשים וחמש

without child<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'empty'; and she was unaware when birth took place. ');">³</span>

רבי יוסי בר' יהודה אומר דיה לטבילה שתהא באחרונה

spent, within our cognizance,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'and she brought before us'. ');">⁴</span>

בשלמא שבוע ראשון לא משמשת אימר

three clean weeks<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. having arrived in the day-time she experienced no discharge from the moment of her arrival for three weeks. ');">⁵</span>

יולדת זכר היא שבוע שני אימר

and another ten weeks which were alternately unclean<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., experiencing a discharge on each of the seven days of the first alternate weeks. ');">⁶</span>

יולדת נקבה היא שבוע שלישי אימר

and clean,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., she experienced no discharge on any of the seven days of the second alternate weeks. ');">⁷</span>

יולדת נקבה בזוב היא אלא שבוע רביעי אע"ג דקא חזיא דם תשמש דהא דם טהור

she may perform her marital duty on the night preceding the thirty-fifth day<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of her arrival, viz., the last night of the fifth week. After that night, however, as will be explained presently, no cohabitation can be allowed. ');">⁸</span>

הוא לאו משום דלא אזלינן בתר רובא

and she is ordered to undergo ninety-five ritual immersions;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' One after each period of uncleanness as will be explained presently. ');">⁹</span>

אלא מאי לא ידענא מאי תיובתא

so Beth Shammai. But Beth Hillel ruled: Thirty-five immersions.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. prev. n. mut. mut. ');">¹⁰</span>

אימר

R. Jose son of R. Judah ruled: It suffices if one immersion is performed after the final [period of uncleanness]. Now<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Here begins the 'objection' to which Rabin referred (supra 29a ad fin.). ');">¹¹</span>

הרחיקה לידתה

one can well understand why the woman may not perform her marital duty during the first week,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' After her return. 'First week' includes the day of her return. ');">¹²</span>

הך שבוע חמישי דטהור הוא תשמש

since she might be presumed to have given birth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During her absence and immediately before her return. ');">¹³</span>

הך שבוע רביעי כל יומא ויומא מספקין בסוף לידה ובתחלת נדה

to a male child.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that everyone of the first seven days might be one of the seven unclean days prescribed for a woman after a male childbirth. ');">¹⁴</span>

ועשרין ותמניא גופיה אימר

During the second week she might be presumed to have given birth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During her absence and immediately before her return. ');">¹³</span>

תחלת נדה היא ובעיא למיתב שבעה לנדתה

to a female child.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The period of uncleanness after whose birth is two weeks (cf. prev. n. mut. mut.). ');">¹⁵</span>

בעשרים וחד תשמש

During the third week she might be presumed to have given birth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During her absence and immediately before her return. ');">¹³</span>

רבי שמעון היא דאמר

to a female child while she was in the condition of a zabah.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., during the 'eleven days' that intervene between the menstrual periods. Since it is possible that she experienced painless discharges on three consecutive days during this period she must, in addition to the fourteen days (cf. prev. n.), wait a period of another seven clean days (irrespective of whether she did, or did not observe any discharge during the fourteen days) before she can attain to cleanness. ');">¹⁶</span>

אסור לעשות כן שמא תבא לידי ספק

But<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If R. Joshua b. Levi's rule, that most women bear normal children, is tenable. ');">¹⁷</span>

לאורתא תשמש

why should she<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who was known to be pregnant before her departure (v. supra), and who must, therefore, (cf. prev. n.) be presumed to have given birth to a normal child. ');">¹⁸</span>

כשראתה בערב

not be permitted to perform her marital duty in the fourth week though she had observed a discharge of blood seeing that it is clean blood?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since the fourth week is inevitably excluded from the unclean periods (seven days for a male and fourteen for a female) that follow childbirth, and included in the thirty-three clean days prescribed for a male birth. ');">¹⁹</span>

ומטבילין אותה תשעים וחמש טבילות

Must it not then be admitted that the reason<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Why the woman is treated as unclean even during the fourth week. ');">²⁰</span>

שבוע קמא מטבילין אותה בלילותא

is because we are not guided here by the majority rule?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that there is no presumption of the birth of any child and no consequent allowance of any period of clean blood. How then could R. Joshua b. Levi, contrary to this Baraitha, maintain that in such cases the majority rule is followed? ');">²¹</span>

אימר

— What then<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In view of the forceful objection just advanced. ');">²²</span>

יולדת זכר היא

[is the justification for the statement] 'I do not know what objection it was'? — It might be presumed that her delivery took place a long time ago.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And her clean blood period also has terminated long before the fourth week. The Baraitha would consequently present no objection against R. Joshua b. Levi, since the tenability of his majority rule in no way affects the uncleanness of the fourth week, while, as regards the imposition upon the woman of the obligation of the sacrifice prescribed for one after childbirth, the rule is in fact upheld even in this case. ');">²³</span>

שבוע שני מטבילין אותה בלילותא אימר

But why should she not be allowed to perform her marital duty during the fifth week<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., on any of its seven days and not only (as laid down supra) on the night preceding the last one (the thirty-fifth day). ');">²⁴</span>

יולדת נקבה היא ביממא אימר

which<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since the ten weeks were alternately unclean and clean. ');">²⁵</span>

יולדת זכר בזוב היא

is a clean one? — In the case of the fourth week<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On every day of which she suffered a discharge. ');">²⁶</span>

שבוע שלישי מטבילין לה ביממא אימר

every day might be regarded as being possibly the conclusion of [the clean days prescribed for] a childbirth and the beginning of the period of menstruation, so that the twenty-eighth day itself<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The last day of the fourth week. ');">²⁷</span>

יולדת נקבה בזוב היא בלילותא ב"ש לטעמייהו דאמרי

might be presumed to be the first day of the menstrual period and she must consequently continue [her uncleanness for] seven days in respect of her menstruation.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which, beginning on the last day of the fourth week, terminates on the sixth day of the fifth week. Hence the permissibility of marital duty (after due ritual immersion) on the night following that day (the one preceding the thirty-fifth day of her return). During the weeks that follow all intercourse would be forbidden, since each alternate 'clean' week might he regarded as the period of seven days that must be allowed to elapse after the zibah of the previous 'unclean' week before cleanness is attained. ');">²⁸</span>

טבולת יום ארוך בעי טבילה

But why should she not be permitted to perform her marital duty on the twenty-first day?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of her return. This day (the last one of the third week) must inevitably be a clean one. For even if the woman had been delivered on the very day of her return her period of childbirth uncleanness would have terminated (even in the case of a female child) on the fourteenth day, while the seven days following could be counted as the prescribed seven days following a period of zibah on the last of which she is permitted to perform ritual immersion at any time of the day and to attain to a state of cleanness (cf. Yoma 6a) for the rest of that day. ');">²⁹</span> — This<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The prohibition of intercourse on the twenty-first day. ');">³⁰</span> is in agreement with the view of R. Simeon who ruled: It is forbidden to do so<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To have intercourse on the seventh day after the termination of a zibah even though ritual immersion had been performed. ');">³¹</span> since, thereby, she<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If she happened to suffer a discharge later in the day after intercourse. ');">³²</span> might be involved in a doubtful uncleanness.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of zibah. A discharge on the seventh day following the termination of zibah renders void all the previous counting, since the seven clean days must be complete. ');">³³</span> But<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since on the twenty-first day she was still clean and her first discharge in the following (fourth) week occurred presumably on the twenty-second day. ');">³⁴</span> why should she not be permitted intercourse in the evening?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Following the twenty-first day. ');">³⁵</span> — This is a case where she observed the discharge in the evening.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. prev. n. And similarly in the case of all the alternate unclean weeks the discharges occurred in the evenings. ');">³⁶</span> 'And she is ordered to undergo ninety-five ritual immersions: During the first week<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' After her return. ');">³⁷</span> she is ordered immersion every night, since it might be presumed that she gave birth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Seven days previously. ');">³⁸</span> to a male child.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that each day of the first week might possibly be the first one after the termination of the unclean days and it is a religious duty to perform ritual immersion immediately after the unclean days had terminated. ');">³⁹</span> During the second week she is ordered immersion every night,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. BaH. for a different reading. ');">⁴⁰</span> since it might be presumed that she gave birth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Fourteen days previously. ');">⁴¹</span> to a female child;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that each day of the first week might possibly be the first one after the termination of the unclean days and it is a religious duty to perform ritual immersion immediately after the unclean days had terminated. ');">³⁹</span> and every day, since it might also be presumed that she gave birth to a male child while she was in a condition of <i>zibah</i>.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that each day of the first week counted as the sixth of the clean days after zibah which (cf. supra n. 5) must be immediately followed (during the day-time of the following day) by ritual immersion. ');">⁴²</span> During the third week she is ordered immersion every day, since it might be presumed that she gave birth to a female child while she was in a state of <i>zibah</i>;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. prev. n. mut. mut. ');">⁴³</span> and every night, because Beth Shammai follow the view they expressed elsewhere that one who performed immersion on a long day<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The fourteen unclean days (after which the woman performs immersion) and the sixty-six clean days that follow (during which she is forbidden to eat terumah) are regarded as one long day on which immersion had been performed and sunset is awaited (sunset being represented by that of the eightieth day after childbirth) to complete and terminate ail traces of uncleanness. ');">⁴⁴</span> must again perform immersion [at its conclusion].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. on the night following the eightieth day and preceding the eighty-first one. As every day of the third week might possibly be the eightieth, immersion must be performed on every night of that week. The same reason could, of course, be given for the necessity for immersion in the previous weeks had there been no other reasons to justify it. ');">⁴⁵</span>