Arakhin 8a — the Talmud in English

But if he

gave

first

four to the first,

and afterward one sela

to the second, he fulfilled the second,

for after he paid the four to the first, his means indeed reach only one sela for the second. But

he did not fulfill the first,

because at the time of the giving he still had five in his possession,

and all of them

were

subject by lien

to the first,

and it follows that at the time he gave the four sela his giving was not according to what his means reached, for he had five sela in his possession at that time.

Rav Adda bar Ahava raised a question: He had five sela'im in his possession

only

and said, “Two valuations of mine,”

and the two obligations took effect simultaneously,

what is [the law]?

And the sides of the doubt are: shall we say,

since he vowed them simultaneously, he grasped them equally,

and they are like two equal creditors. Therefore, when the koen assesses him for both of them at once, he must assess his ability to pay with regard to each valuation at only half of what he has, since the other half is needed for payment of the other valuation, and therefore

he gives two and a half

for this

valuation

and two and a half for this

valuation, for this is his ability to pay.

Or perhaps, all of them

five sela'im

are fit for this

valuation

and all of them are fit for this

valuation, and therefore the koen must assess him at five sela'im for only one valuation, [for one valuation’s debt does not diminish the measure of his ability to pay for the other valuation,] and he will pay all five sela'im for one valuation, while he will still remain liable for the second valuation.

And we conclude:

teyku!

We learned in the final clause of our Mishna:

There is no valuation of less than a sela and not more than fifty sela'im.

And we raised a question concerning it:

Why do I need this also?

For this clause was already taught in the first clause.

And we answer:

This teaches us —

it is less than a sela that there is not, but more than a sela there is,

and it teaches us further:

it is more than fifty that there is not, but less than fifty there is,

and from the force of these two inferences it follows that also when it is more than a sela and less than fifty, he becomes liable to pay.

And the anonymous statement

of the Mishna

is according to the Rabbis,

and not according to Rabbi Meir, who holds: either a sela or fifty. And the anonymous tannai stated it according to the Rabbis, to teach that this is the halakha, for the halakha follows an anonymous Mishna.

Mishna:

By Torah law, the impurity of a zava differs from the impurity of a menstruant, and the order of the reckoning of “days of menstruation” and “days of flux” is as follows: every woman, the first time that she sees blood, this is a menstruant’s sighting, and all seven days from the time of her sighting are called “days of menstruation,” for any blood that she sees during those days is a menstruant’s sighting. And from the eighth day until day eighteen, these are the eleven days of flux, and every sighting that she sees during them renders her impure with the impurity of a zava, and all that is stated below applies to her. And if those eleven days passed over her without a sighting, then every sighting that she sees from this point onward—whether it is on the day after the eleventh day or whether she distanced her sighting greatly—is again impure with the impurity of a menstruant, for then the counting of the seven [days] will begin again.

Days of menstruation and eleven days of flux, and so on repeatedly.

And if she saw during the days of flux for three consecutive days, the days of flux do not end until seven clean days without a sighting have passed over her. And even if the eleven days of flux ended, she does not begin the counting of the days of menstruation; they are still days of flux until she counts seven clean [days].

And the two impurities differ in their laws. The menstruant, whether she saw for only one day or whether she saw all seven days, if she stopped seeing at the end of the seventh day, immerses on the night of the eighth [day] and rises from her impurity. But the zava, if she saw for only one day, observes the following day as clean, immerses, and is pure. And likewise, if she saw for two days, she observes the third day in purity, immerses on it, and is pure. But if she saw for three consecutive days, she is a major zava, and she requires counting seven clean days without a sighting, and only at their end does she immerse and rise from her impurity.

A major zava is liable to bring an offering on the eighth day after she became pure, whereas a menstruant is not liable to bring an offering. [

And all this is by Torah law, but by rabbinic law they are stringent with her according to the stringency of both in every sighting. And she becomes pure only on the night of the eighth from her sighting and after counting seven clean [days]. ]

And the Mishna is speaking of a woman who saw and is mistaken: she lost the reckoning of the days, and does not know whether the day of her sighting is from the days of menstruation or from the days of flux.

The woman does not

return to the counting of the beginning of the days of menstruation, which is called in the language of the tannai

“opening,” when she is mistaken

on the day of her sighting [for she does not know whether it is from the days of flux or menstruation], with

fewer than seven

days that pass over her without a sighting. That is, at the very least, seven days clean of a sighting are required, so that we will know with certainty that her days of menstruation begin. But in certain cases seven days are insufficient and more are required; nevertheless, in every case

not

are

more than seventeen

clean days required, for in this manner she will always return to the opening of menstruation.

Gemara:

It now explains all the distinctions of laws included in our Mishna.

The Sages taught: A mistaken woman who said, “I saw one impure day,”

and I do not know whether this day is from the days of menstruation or from the days of flux—she returns to her

opening,

that is, to the beginning of the counting of the days of menstruation, at the end of

seventeen

clean days without a sighting. For if she sees on the eighteenth day from the beginning of the clean days [which is the nineteenth day from the previous sighting], it is the opening of menstruation, and this is the meaning of our Mishna: “and not more than seventeen days.”

The reason is that after seventeen days, apart from the day of the sighting, she has in any event emerged from the concern of the doubt of flux. For if the previous sighting was during the days of flux, since the eleven days of the days fit for flux have ended and were clean, the days fit for menstruation now begin; therefore, certainly the sighting on the nineteenth day is a menstruant’s sighting .

And even if the previous sighting was at the beginning of the days fit for menstruation, both the seven days of menstruation and the eleven days of flux have already passed, for this is already the nineteenth day; therefore, her sighting now is certainly the beginning of the days of menstruation.

But with fewer than this, for example, if she saw on the seventeenth day of the clean [days], which is the eighteenth day from the day of the sighting, she has still not emerged from the doubt. Perhaps her previous day of sighting was from the days of menstruation, and after seven days of menstruation, the eleven days of flux began, and they have not yet ended; if so, the eighteenth day is the last day of the eleven days of flux.

But it is possible that the previous sighting was on the first day of the days of flux, and since eleven days fit for flux passed after it, and she is now on the eighteenth day, it follows that the sighting on the eighteenth day is on the seventh day of the days of menstruation [7 = 11 - 18], and all the more so if she saw before the seventeenth day of counting the clean [days], for this is a doubt whether menstruation or a zava.

“I saw two impure days,” [

her last sighting continued for two days]

her opening

also [is] after

seventeen

clean [days]. For if she sees on the eighteenth day after the counting of seventeen clean days, which is the twentieth day from the beginning of the previous sighting, it is in any event the opening of menstruation. If the first two days were days of flux, then the days of flux ended nine days after them [11 - 2 = 9], and when she distanced her sighting until after seventeen clean days, it is certainly during the days of menstruation [9 = 11 - 20]. And even if the two days of the sighting were days of menstruation, the seven days of menstruation and the eleven days of flux after them already ended at the conclusion of eighteen days, and the days of menstruation began again.

But if she saw on the seventeenth day itself, which is the nineteenth day from the beginning of the previous sighting, she is still in doubt: for if the two days of the previous sighting were days of menstruation, and likewise if both of them were days of flux, then on the nineteenth day from her sighting the days of menstruation had already begun. But there is concern that the first day on which she saw was the last day of the eleven days of flux, whereas the second day on which she saw was the first day of the seven days of menstruation. If so, the cycle of eighteen days of menstruation and flux ends on the seventeenth day of the clean [days]. It follows that this day is the last day of the eleven days of flux.

“I saw three impure days; her opening

also [is] after

seventeen

clean [days], which is the twenty-first day from the beginning of her sighting, and according to the manner explained above. For if she sees on the eighteenth day of the clean [days], whether all three days were days of flux or whether all of them were days of menstruation, eighteen days have already passed from her previous sighting, and the seven days of menstruation and eleven days of flux have been completed, and she again returns to the opening of menstruation.

But the seventeenth day itself, which is the eighteenth day from the last day of the sighting, is still subject to the doubt of flux. It is possible that the first two days were the end of the days of flux, and the third day was the beginning of the days of menstruation. It follows that the seventeenth day of the clean [days] is the eighteenth day from the beginning of the previous days of menstruation, and the last of the eleven days of flux.

Until here, we required seventeen clean [days] so that she would return to her opening. This is hinted at in the words of the Mishna, “and not more than seventeen.” From this point onward, the clean days required to return her to her opening decrease, until they reach seven days, as the Mishna says: “There is no opening for a mistaken woman of less than se

“I saw four impure days; her opening

is after

sixteen

clean [days]. For if she sees on the seventeenth day of the clean [days], which is the twenty-first day from the beginning of her previous sighting, she has emerged from the doubt. For in any event, it is a menstruant’s sighting. If all four days were days of menstruation, the eleven days of flux ended on the eighteenth day from the sighting [and now we are already on the twenty-first day]. And if they were days of flux, all the more so the days of flux have already ended and passed. And even if the first two were from the end of the days of flux and the last two were the beginning of menstruation, nevertheless the seven days of menstruation ended after five of the clean [days], together with the two days of the sighting. And the eleven days of flux after them end on the sixteenth day of the clean [days]. On the following day it is certainly the opening of menstruation.

And there is no concern that perhaps the first three days were the end of the days of flux, and the days of menstruation began only on the fourth day of the sighting, so that the seventeenth day of the clean [days] is still from the days of flux. For if three consecutive days were days of flux, then the fourth day is not the beginning of the days of menstruation, since a complete zava does not return to the opening of menstruation until she counts seven clean [days]. And since the fourth day is not counted as the first day of the days of menstruation, the sighting that she sees on the seventeenth day after it [6 = 11 - 17] is certainly during the days of menstruation.

“I saw five impure days; her opening

is after

fifteen

clean [days], for in any event it is the beginning of the days of menstruation, according to the manner explained above. But if she saw on the fifteenth day itself, there is concern that the first two days were the end of the days of flux and the last three were the beginning of the days of menstruation. It follows that the seven days of menstruation were completed on the fourth day of the clean [days], and from then the eleven days of flux are counted and end on the fifteenth day. But there is no concern that the first three days were days of flux, for if so, the fourth and fifth days too are not days of menstruation, since she does not leave the days of flux until she counts seven clean [days].

“I saw six impure days; her opening

is after

fourteen

clean [days], for even if the first two days were the end of the days of flux and the days of menstruation began from the third day, the eighteen days of menstruation and flux were already completed on the fourteenth day, and on the following day it is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw seven impure days; her opening

is after

thirteen

clean [days], for in any event, the fourteenth day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw eight impure days; her opening

is after

twelve

clean [days], for in any event, the thirteenth day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw nine impure days; her opening

is after

eleven

clean [days], for in any event, the twelfth day is the opening of menstruation.

“Ten

days I saw as impure; her opening

is after

ten

clean [days], for in any event, the eleventh day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw eleven impure days; her opening

is after

nine

clean [days], for in any event, the tenth day is the opening of menstruation.