משנה: אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָֽמְרוּ דַּייָהּ שָׁעָתָהּ צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בּוֹדֶקֶת חוּץ מִן הַנִּידָּה וְהַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת לְדַם טוֹהַר. וְהַמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת בָּעִדִים חוּץ מִן הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת עַל דַּם טוֹהַר וּבְתוּלָה שֶׁדָּמֶיהָ טְהוֹרִין. וּפַעֲמַיִם שֶׁהִיא צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בּוֹדֶקֶת בְּשַׁחֲרִית וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁהִיא עוֹבֶרֶת לְשַׁמֵּשׁ אֶת בֵּיתָהּ. יְתֵירוֹת עֲלֵיהֶן הַכֹּהֲנוֹת בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהֵן אוֹכְלוֹת בַּתְּרוּמָה. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר אַף בְּשָׁעַת עֲבָרָתָן מִלֶּאֱכוֹל תְּרוּמָה. MISHNAH: Even though they said that their timing was exact141The women enumerated in Mishnaiot 2 and 3., she has to check herself142If she prepares food in ritual purity., except for the menstruating143The menstruating woman for seven days cannot prepare pure food. In the period of purity, a woman cannot become impure by any genital discharge. and one in her period of purity83Lev. 15:25 creates a special category, zavah, for a woman whose discharge of blood is prolonged “many days after her menstrual period”, who is subject to more complicated rules of cleansing. Since “days” must mean a minimum of two days, “many days” must mean at least three days (by the hermeneutic principle of definiteness, cf. H. Guggenheimer, Logical Problems in Jewish Tradition, in: Confrontations with Judaism, Ph. Longworth, ed., Blond, London 1966, pp. 174–175). Now it is stated here that bleeding after childbirth cannot induce a status of zavah since (1) the time span of 7 days after the birth of a boy and 14 after that of a girl are defined as “menstrual impurity” and (2) this is followed by a period of purity of 33 days (for a boy) or 66 (for a girl) in which no discharge has any implication for impurity (Lev.12:4–5). Therefore, the only way a birth is followed by a status of zavah would be if the bloody discharges persist all through the period of purity.; even one who has intercourse with cloths5,After intercourse (according to Rashi: before and after intercourse) she wipes herself with a clean cloth which can be inspected the next morning. The connection of the word עדים to the biblical hapax in Is. 64:5 is due to Qimhi; according to Rashi (Is. 64:5), the biblical word is an Aramaism and means “to be discarded”. In Niddah, Rashi seems to to read עֵד “a witness”.144She is pure for her husband and if she checks herself in the evening and finds herself pure she can be certain that the food she prepared during the preceding day is pure; but for the next morning she still needs to check herself. except one in her period of purity and a virgin145A “blood virgin” who can be married and even have children. whose blood is pure. Twice she has to check herself, morning146If she prepared pure food during the preceding night. and evening147To justify the food she prepared during the preceding day., and when she goes to have intercourse148This is necessary only if she regularly prepares pure food.. In addition, wives of Cohanim when they go to eat heave149They have to be sure that they are pure when they eat sanctified food.. Rebbi Jehudah says, also when they stop eating heave150If there is any leftover food, they have to check themselves to be sure that it remained pure and usable..
הלכה: אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָֽמְרוּ דַּייָהּ שָׁעָתָהּ כול׳. כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָא. חוּץ מִן הַנִּידָּה שֶׁלֹּא הִפְסִיקָה לָהּ טַהֳרָה. וְהַמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת בָּעִדִים. כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָא. צְרִיכָה שֶׁתְּשַׁמֵּשׁ בָּעִדִּים. וּבְתוּלָה שֶדָּמֶיהָ טְהוֹרִין. כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָא. תִּינּוֹקֶת שֶׁלֹּא הִגִּיעַ זְמַנָּהּ לִרְאוֹת וְנִישֵּׂאת. HALAKHAH: “Even though they said that their timing was exact,” etc. So is the Mishnah: Except for the menstruating woman whose period was not interrupted by purity151During the prescribed seven days of impurity.. “Even one who has intercourse with cloths,” so is the Mishnah: She is required to have intercourse with cloths152וְהַמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת is corrected into וּמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת. This correction is found in those modern printed Mishnah editions which are not based on mss.. “And a virgin whose blood is pure,” so is the Mishnah: A girl who has not reached puberty but was married153An extensive discussion of this paragraph with variant readings from Mishnah and Babli mss. is in J. N. Epstein, 2מבוא לנוסח המשנה, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv 1964, pp. 483–485..
שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר. לַיְלָה וְיוֹם עוֹנָה. וּמִקְצַת עוֹנָה כְּכוּלָּהּ. הִפְסִיקָה וְאַחַר כָּךְ רָאָת טְמֵיאָה. שִׁינָּת מַרְאֵה דָמֶיהָ טְמֵיאָה. אָמַר רִבִּי זְעִירָה. בְּשֶׁלֹּא שִׁינָּת מַחֲמַת הַתַּשְׁמִישׁ. אֲבָל אִם שִׁינָּת מַחֲמַת הַתַּשְׁמִישׁ טְהוֹרָה. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי. וּמַתְנִיתָא אָֽמְרָה כֵן. וּבְתוּלָה שֶׁדָּמֶיהָ טְהוֹרִין. הָדָא אָֽמְרָה. שִׁינָּת מַחֲמַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ טְהוֹרָה. וְאִם אוֹמֵר אַתְּ. שִׁינָּת מַחֲמַת הַתַּשְׁמִישׁ תְּהֵא טְמֵאָה. וּתְשַׁמֵּשׁ בְּעִד. שֶׁמָּא תְשַׁנֶּה מַחֲמַת הַתַּשְׁמִישׁ וּתְהֵא טְמֵיאָה. Samuel said, a night and a day form a period, and part of a period is as if it were the entire period154This refers to the case of a girl who was married after she reached puberty. In Mishnah 10:1, it is stated that the House of Shammai permit only the first intercourse which deflowers her, because the blood she loses as a consequence is considered as if it were menstrual blood. In the Mishnah and in Tosephta 9:8, the House of Hillel is reported to permit intercourse the entire first night. In the Tosephta (quoted in the Babli, 65a), Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says “one gives her a full period, half a day and the night”, meaning the first night and the following morning. In the baraita known to Samuel, the statement simply must have been “one gives her a full period,” and he explains that a full period is night and day but that part of the day (until midday) is already counted as the entire day and after that, for the remainder of the wedding week, the bride is forbidden to the husband as if she were menstruating.. “If she ceased and then bled again, she is impure”155In Tosephta 9:7 it is explained that if a girl had not reached puberty when she was married, the wound from deflowering had healed, and she was able to have intercourse without bleeding, if then she bleeds for any reason she is impure as menstruating. That is the meaning of the small excerpt quoted here.. If the look of the blood changed, she is impure. Rebbi Ze‘ira said, if it did not change because of intercourse156The first part of Tosephta 9:8 states: “If the look of the blood was changed she is impure as menstruating.” R. Ze‘ira disputes this reading and holds that if the blood is mingled with semen, it is obvious that she is injured by the intercourse; she remains pure until for the first time she bleeds not in connection with intercourse.. But if it changed because of intercourse, she is pure. Rebbi Yose said, the Mishnah says so, “a virgin whose blood is pure.” That implies, if it changed because of intercourse, she is pure. Since if you said, if it changed because of intercourse she is impure, let her have intercourse with a cloth, maybe it would change because of intercourse and she would be impure157The argument goes as follows: The Mishnah here states that a pre-puberty girl does not have to check herself when she works on pure food, and she does not have to check herself when she sleeps with her husband. If she could be impure by bleeding during intercourse, she should be prevented from working with pure food unless she checked herself after each intercourse. Since she is not prevented, if follows that she cannot be held to be menstruating unless either she reached puberty or she once bled in a way not connected with intercourse.!
פַּעֲמַיִים הִיא צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בּוֹדֶקֶת כול׳. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. כְּנֶגֶד שְׁנֵי פְעָמִים שֶׁהַיּוֹם מִשְׁתַּנֶּה עַל הַבִּרְיוֹת. “Twice she has to check herself,” etc. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Bun said, corresponding to the two times in which the day changes for creatures158From darkness to light and from light to darkness. The rule is purely one of convention, not intrinsic to the situation..
רִבִּי לָֽעְזָר בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָה. כָּל־מָקוֹם שֶׁאָֽמְרוּ חֲכָמִים. בַּעֲלָהּ חַייָב בְּקָרְבָּן כְּנֶגְדָּהּ בְּטַהֳרוֹת טְמֵאוֹת. בַּעֲלָהּ פָּטוּר מִן הַקָּרְבָּן כְּנֶגְדָּהּ בְּטַהֳרוֹת טְהוֹרוֹת. בַּעֲלָהּ סָפֵק בְּקָרְבָּן כְּנֶגְדָּהּ בְּטַהֳרוֹת תְּלוּיוֹת. רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק בָּעֵי. אִילּוּ זָקֵן וְיֶלֶד שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכִין בִּטְרִיקְלִין. לֹא דָבָר בָּרִיא שֶׁהַזָּקֵן מְשַׁמֵּשׁ תְּחִילָּה. הָא אִם יֶלֶד אָתֵי וּמַטְעֵי בֵיהּ. רִבִּי אָבוּן בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי יוּדָן. אֲנִי אוֹמֵר. שָׁם הָיָה. בִּיאָה הִיא שֶׁהִיא סוֹתֶמֶת. בְּרַם הָכָא. אִילּוּ הֲוָה שָׁם מִי מְעַכְּבוֹ שֶׁלֹּא לָצֵאת. מַתְנִיתָא פְלִיגָא עַל רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָה. פֵּירְשָׁה וְרָאָת הִיא טְמֵיאָה וְכוּלָּן טְהוֹרוֹת. מַתְנִיתָא פְלִיגָא עַל בַּר פְּדָיָה. רִבִּי יוּדָה אוֹמֵר. אַף בְּשָׁעַת עֲבָרָתָן מִלּוֹכַל בַּתְּרוּמָה. לֵיידָא מִילָּה. לֹא שֶׁאִם תִּרְאֶה תְּהֵא מְטַמְּאָה לְמַפְרֵעַ. אָמַר רִבִּי עֶזְרָא קוֹמֵי רִבִּי מָנָא. תִּיפְתָּר בְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ װֶסֶת. אָמַר לֵיהּ. כֵּן אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי רִבִּי. כָּל־מַה דַּאֲנָן קַייָמַין הָכָא בְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ װֶסֶת אֲנָן קַייָמִין. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. סָֽלְקַת מַתְנִיתָא. עַד כָּאן בְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ װֵסֶת. מִיכָּן וְאֵילַךְ. בְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ װֵסֶת. וַאֲפִילוּ תֵימַר. לֹא סָֽלְקַת מַתְנִיתָא. אֶלָּא כָּל־מַה דַּאֲנָן קַייָמַין הָכָא בְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ װֵסֶת אֲנָן קַייָמִין. וּמָה עֲבִיד לָהּ בַּר פְּדָיָיה. חֲלוּקִין עַל רִבִּי יוּדָה. Rebbi Eleazar in the name of Rebbi Hoshaia: In every situation in which the Sages said that her husband would be obligated for a sacrifice, pure food became impure; her husband would be exempt from a sacrifice, pure food remains pure; her husband would have to bring a sacrifice for a doubt, pure food is in limbo159In the Babli 60b (and later in this paragraph in the Yerushalmi) this is attributed to Bar Pada or Pedaiah. Rashi explains the text:
A woman was occupied with pure food and noticed she was bleeding; since if that were to happen during intercourse her husband would have to bring a purification sacrifice (for a sin committed inadvertently), we assume that the blood was already there when she was touching the pure food, the food is certainly impure and has to be burned. But if only a short time after she was finished with the food she noticed it, since if she did notice blood a short time after intercourse her husband would have to bring an expiation sacrifice (not knowing whether a sin has been committed, cf. Bikkurim 2:9 Note 162), the food can neither be used nor burned. If the woman detected the blood after a longer interval, the husband is in the clear and the food is pure.. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac asked: If an old man and a child walk in a dining room, does the old man not enter first? But the child can come and make a fool of him160This simile is slightly pornographic. The dining hall is the woman’s womb, the old man the penis, and the child menstrual blood. Even though the penis closes the entrance, the blood can sneak out before the penis leaves. The implication is that even in the case in which the husband only would be obligated for the expiation sacrifice, the food should be declared impure and be burned.. Rebbi Abun in the name of Rebbi Yudan: I say, it was here but the intercourse stopped it from leaving; but there, what hindered it to leave161The argument in the preceding simile does not apply; a woman working in the kitchen is not to be compared to a woman during intercourse. In the first case, blood will flow out immediately under the action of gravity; in the second case she is lying down and her vagina is closed by the man’s penis.? The Mishnah162Mishnah 1:3. This refers to a case which, when occurring immediately after intercourse, would obligate the husband for an expiation sacrifice. Nevertheless, the food remains pure if the woman has a regular, predictable, period. (In the Babli, R. Hoshaia is reported to oppose the opinion ascribed to him in the present paragraph and to hold that in all cases other that direct touch by an impure person, pure food is held in limbo. This also is denied by the Mishnah quoted.) disagrees with Rebbi Hoshaiah: “If she left [the bed] and saw blood, she is impure but all the food is pure.” The Mishnah disagrees with Bar Pedaiah159In the Babli 60b (and later in this paragraph in the Yerushalmi) this is attributed to Bar Pada or Pedaiah. Rashi explains the text:
A woman was occupied with pure food and noticed she was bleeding; since if that were to happen during intercourse her husband would have to bring a purification sacrifice (for a sin committed inadvertently), we assume that the blood was already there when she was touching the pure food, the food is certainly impure and has to be burned. But if only a short time after she was finished with the food she noticed it, since if she did notice blood a short time after intercourse her husband would have to bring an expiation sacrifice (not knowing whether a sin has been committed, cf. Bikkurim 2:9 Note 162), the food can neither be used nor burned. If the woman detected the blood after a longer interval, the husband is in the clear and the food is pure.: “Rebbi Jehudah says, also when they stop eating heave.” Why? Not that if she would bleed, the food should not retroactively become impure163Jehudah’s opinion can only be explained in the case that he requires a verification to avoid retroactive impurity even where the husband would be free from any obligation of sacrifice if there remains the possibility of retroactive impurity. But Bar Pedaiah asserts that in the latter case there is no retroactive impurity!? Rebbi Ezra said before Rebbi Mana: Explain it for a woman who has no regular period164Following Mishnah 1.. He said to him, so says my teacher Rebbi Yose: All that is described here is about a woman who has a regular period. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, the Mishnah rises165The Mishnah has two parts; R. Jehudah does not address the same situation as does the anonymous majority; one cannot infer that he represents a minority opinion.: Up to this point [it speaks] about a woman who has a regular period; from there on about a woman who has no regular period. But even if you say that the Mishnah does not rise166The Mishnah assumes a uniform background; R. Jehudah’s opinion is that of a minority., and we deal only with a woman who has a regular period, where does Bar Pedaiah hold? One differs with Rebbi Jehudah.