שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, כָּל הַנָּשִׁים דַּיָּן שְׁעָתָן. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, מִפְּקִידָה לִפְקִידָה, וַאֲפִלּוּ לְיָמִים הַרְבֵּה. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, לֹא כְדִבְרֵי זֶה וְלֹא כְדִבְרֵי זֶה, אֶלָּא מֵעֵת לְעֵת מְמַעֵט עַל יַד מִפְּקִידָה לִפְקִידָה, וּמִפְּקִידָה לִפְקִידָה מְמַעֶטֶת עַל יַד מֵעֵת לְעֵת. כָּל אִשָּׁה שֶׁיֶּשׁ לָהּ וֶסֶת, דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ. וְהַמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת בְּעִדִּים, הֲרֵי זוֹ כִפְקִידָה, וּמְמַעֶטֶת עַל יַד מֵעֵת לְעֵת וְעַל יַד מִפְּקִידָה לִפְקִידָה: Shammai says: For all women who do not have a fixed menstrual cycle, their time is sufficient. Women who discern that menstrual blood emerged do not need to be concerned that perhaps the flow of blood began before they noticed it. Rather, they assume their ritual impurity status begins at that moment, in terms of rendering impure teruma and ritually pure items with which they come in contact. Hillel says: From examination [mipekida] to examination, i.e., she assumes ritual impurity status retroactive to the last time she examined herself and determined that she was ritually pure, and this is the halakha even if her examination took place several days earlier. Any ritually pure item with which she came in contact in the interim becomes ritually impure. And the Rabbis say: The halakha is neither in accordance with the statement of this tanna nor in accordance with the statement of that tanna; rather, the principle is: A twenty-four-hour period reduces the time from examination to examination. In other words, if her final self-examination took place more than twenty-four hours earlier, she need only concern herself with ritual impurity for the twenty-four-hour period prior to discerning the blood. And from examination to examination reduces the time from a twenty-four-hour period. In other words, if she examined herself in the course of the previous day and discovered no blood, she was certainly ritually pure prior to the examination. For any woman who has a fixed menstrual cycle [veset], and she examined herself at that time and discovered blood, her time is sufficient, and it is only from that time that she transmits ritual impurity. And with regard to a woman who engages in intercourse while using examination cloths [be’edim] before and after intercourse, with which she ascertains whether her menstrual flow began, the halakhic status of such an action is like that of an examination, and therefore it reduces the time from a twenty-four-hour period, and reduces the time from examination to examination.
כֵּיצַד דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ. הָיְתָה יוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּמִּטָּה וַעֲסוּקָה בְטָהֳרוֹת, וּפֵרְשָׁה וְרָאֲתָה, הִיא טְמֵאָה וְכֻלָּן טְהוֹרוֹת. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמְרוּ, מְטַמְּאָה מֵעֵת לְעֵת, אֵינָהּ מוֹנָה אֶלָּא מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁרָאָתָה: Her time is sufficient, how so? If the woman was sitting in the bed and engaged in handling ritually pure items, and she left the bed and saw blood, she is ritually impure and those items are ritually pure. Although the Rabbis said that a woman without a fixed menstrual cycle transmits ritual impurity retroactively for a twenty-four-hour period, a woman with a fixed cycle counts her menstrual days only from the moment that she saw blood.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, אַרְבַּע נָשִׁים דַּיָּן שְׁעָתָן, בְּתוּלָה, מְעֻבֶּרֶת, מֵנִיקָה וּזְקֵנָה. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, אֲנִי לֹא שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶלָּא בְתוּלָה, אֲבָל הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: Rabbi Eliezer says: Unlike the women with regard to whom it was taught that they transmit impurity retroactively, there are four women who discern menstrual blood and their time is sufficient, i.e., they transmit impurity only from the moment that they saw the blood: A virgin, a pregnant woman, a nursing woman, and an elderly woman. Rabbi Yehoshua says: I heard this halakha from my teachers only with regard to a virgin, but the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer.
אֵיזוֹ הִיא בְתוּלָה, כֹּל שֶׁלֹּא רָאֲתָה דָם מִיָּמֶיהָ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁנְּשׂוּאָה. מְעֻבֶּרֶת, מִשֶּׁיִּוָּדַע עֻבָּרָהּ. מֵנִיקָה, עַד שֶׁתִּגְמֹל אֶת בְּנָהּ. נָתְנָה בְנָהּ לְמֵנִיקָה, גְּמָלַתּוּ אוֹ מֵת, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, מְטַמְּאָה מֵעֵת לְעֵת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ: Who is the woman characterized as a virgin in this context? It is any woman who has not seen the flow of menstrual blood in all her days, even if she was married and has experienced bleeding as a result of intercourse consummating her marriage. The time of a pregnant woman is from the point in her pregnancy when the existence of her fetus is known to all who see her. The time of a nursing woman is until she weans her child from nursing. If she stopped nursing, e.g., she gave her child to a wet nurse, weaned him from nursing, or her child died, and she saw menstrual blood, Rabbi Meir says: She transmits impurity for a twenty-four-hour period or from her most recent examination. And the Rabbis say: Even in those cases, her time is sufficient.
אֵיזוֹהִי זְקֵנָה. כֹּל שֶׁעָבְרוּ עָלֶיהָ שָׁלשׁ עוֹנוֹת סָמוּךְ לְזִקְנָתָהּ. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, כָּל אִשָּׁה שֶׁעָבְרוּ עָלֶיהָ שָׁלשׁ עוֹנוֹת, דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, מְעֻבֶּרֶת וּמֵנִיקָה שֶׁעָבְרוּ עֲלֵיהֶן שָׁלשׁ עוֹנוֹת, דַּיָּן שְׁעָתָן: Who is the woman characterized as an elderly woman in this context? It is any woman for whom three typical menstrual cycles of thirty days passed during which she saw no menstrual blood, at a stage of her life close to her old age. Rabbi Eliezer says: In the case of any woman for whom three typical menstrual cycles passed during which she saw no menstrual blood, if she then experiences bleeding, her time is sufficient. Rabbi Yosei says: With regard to a pregnant woman and a nursing woman for whom three typical menstrual cycles passed during which they saw no menstrual blood, if they then saw blood, their time is sufficient.
וּבַמֶּה אָמְרוּ דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ. בִּרְאִיָּה רִאשׁוֹנָה. אֲבָל בַּשְּׁנִיָּה, מְטַמְּאָה מֵעֵת לְעֵת. וְאִם רָאֲתָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה מֵאֹנֶס, אַף הַשְּׁנִיָּה דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ: And in the above cases, with regard to what did the tanna say her time is sufficient? It is with regard to the first sighting of blood, but with regard to the second sighting, her status is like that of any other woman, and she transmits impurity for a twenty-four-hour period or from her most recent examination. And if she saw the first sighting as a result of unnatural circumstances, even with regard to the second sighting, the halakha is that her time is sufficient.
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמְרוּ דַּיָּהּ שְׁעָתָהּ, צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בּוֹדֶקֶת, חוּץ מִן הַנִּדָּה וְהַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת עַל דַּם טֹהַר. וּמְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת בְּעִדִּים, חוּץ מִיּוֹשֶׁבֶת עַל דַּם טֹהַר, וּבְתוּלָה שֶׁדָּמֶיהָ טְהוֹרִים. וּפַעֲמַיִם צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת בּוֹדֶקֶת, בְּשַׁחֲרִית וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁהִיא עוֹבֶרֶת לְשַׁמֵּשׁ אֶת בֵּיתָהּ. יְתֵרָה עֲלֵיהֶן כֹּהֲנוֹת, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהֵן אוֹכְלוֹת בַּתְּרוּמָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אַף בִּשְׁעַת עֲבָרָתָן מִלֶּאֱכֹל בַּתְּרוּמָה: Although the Rabbis said that for a woman with a fixed menstrual cycle her time is sufficient and she does not transmit impurity retroactively, she is required to examine herself each day to ensure that she is ritually pure and will not impurify pure items that she is handling. All women must examine themselves each day except for a menstruating woman, whose impure status is known, and a woman after childbirth who is observing the period of the blood of purity, whose ritually pure status is known even if she experiences bleeding. And even a woman with a fixed menstrual cycle engages in intercourse while using examination cloths to ascertain whether her menstrual flow began, except for a woman after childbirth who is observing the period of the blood of purity, and a virgin whose blood is ritually pure for four days after engaging in intercourse for the first time. And she is required to examine herself twice each day: In the morning, to ascertain if she menstruated during the night, and at twilight, to ascertain if she menstruated during the day. And she is also required to examine herself at a time that she is about to engage in intercourse with her husband. The obligation of women of priestly families is greater than that of other women, as they are also required to examine themselves when they seek to partake of teruma. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even when they conclude partaking of teruma they are required to examine themselves, in order to ascertain whether they experienced bleeding while partaking of teruma.