Arakhin 8a (ח.) — the Talmud in English

However, if he

gave

first

four toward the first,

and afterward one sela

toward the second, he has fulfilled the second obligation,

because after paying the four toward the first, he indeed has insufficient means to pay more than one sela toward the second. But

he has not fulfilled the first obligation,

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

and all of them

were

encumbered

to the first obligation.

Thus, at the time he gave the four sela, his payment was not according to his means, since at that time he had five sela in his possession.

Rav Adda bar Ahava raised a question: If he had five selaים

only,

and said, “The valuations of two people are incumbent upon me,”

and the two obligations took effect simultaneously,

what is the ruling?

The sides of the uncertainty are as follows: Shall we say,

Since he vowed them simultaneously, he took them as equivalent,

and they are like two equal creditors? Therefore, when the kohen assesses his means for both at once, he should assess his available means for each valuation at only half of what he possesses, since the other half is needed to pay the other valuation. Accordingly, he

gives two and a half

for this

valuation

and two and a half for that

valuation, since that is his available means.

Or perhaps, all

five selaim

are suitable for this

valuation,

and all of them are suitable for that

valuation. Therefore, the kohen should assess him at five selaim for only one valuation, [for the debt of one valuation does not reduce the measure of his available means for the other valuation,] and he pays all five selaim for one valuation, while he nevertheless remains liable for the second valuation.

And we conclude:

Teyku!

We learned in the latter clause of the Mishna:

There is no valuation of less than one sela and no valuation of more than fifty selaim.

And we raised a difficulty:

Why do I need this additional statement?

This clause was already taught in the first clause.

And we answer:

This teaches us—

It is only less than a sela that there is not; but there is more than a sela,

and it also teaches us that

it is only more than fifty that there is not; but there is less than fifty.

By virtue of these two inferences, it follows that he is also obligated to pay an amount greater than a sela and less than fifty.

And the anonymous statement

of the Mishna

is in accordance with the Rabbis,

and not with Rabbi Meir, who holds that the amount is either one sela or fifty. The anonymous tanna stated the Mishna in accordance with the Rabbis in order to teach that this is the halakha, since the halakha follows an anonymous Mishna.

Mishna:

By Torah law, the impurity of a zavah differs from the impurity of a menstruant, and the system for counting the “menstruation days” and the “days fit for zivah” is as follows: Every woman, the first time she sees blood, has a sighting of menstrual blood, and all seven days from the time of her sighting are called “menstruation days.” Any blood that she sees during those days is a menstrual sighting. From the eighth day through the eighteenth day are the eleven days of zivah, and any sighting that she has during them renders her impure with the impurity of a zavah, with all the consequences stated below. If those eleven days pass without her having a sighting, then every sighting that she has from that point onward—whether it is on the day after the eleventh day or whether she has postponed her sighting for a long time—again renders her impure with the impurity of a menstruant, for then the counting of the menstruation days begins again.

The menstruation days and the eleven days of zivah, and so the cycle repeats.

If she sees blood during the days of zivah for three consecutive days, the days of zivah do not end until seven days pass without her seeing blood. Even if the eleven days of zivah have ended, she does not begin counting the menstruation days; they remain days of zivah until she counts seven clean days.

The two types of impurity also differ in their laws. In the case of a menstruant, whether she saw blood for only one day or for all seven days, if she stops seeing blood at the end of the seventh day, she immerses that night, the eighth night, and emerges from her impurity. In the case of a zavah, however, if she saw blood for only one day, she observes the following day as a clean day, immerses, and becomes pure. Likewise, if she saw blood for two days, she observes the third day in purity, immerses on it, and becomes pure. But if she saw blood for three consecutive days, she is a major zavah and must count seven clean days without seeing blood; only at their conclusion does she immerse and emerge from her impurity.

A major zavah is obligated to bring an offering on the eighth day after she becomes pure, whereas a menstruant is not obligated to bring an offering. [

All this is by Torah law. By rabbinic decree, however, the stringencies of both categories are applied to every sighting. She becomes pure only on the eighth night after her sighting and after counting seven clean days.]

The Mishna is speaking of a woman who had a sighting and is uncertain: She has lost count of the days and does not know whether the day of her sighting was one of the menstruation days or one of the days of zivah.

The

woman does not return to the count of the beginning of the menstruation days, which is called by the tanna

“the opening,” when she is uncertain

on the day of her sighting [as she does not know whether it was one of the days of zivah or of menstruation], with

fewer than seven

days passing without a sighting. That is, at the very least, she requires seven days clean of any sighting in order for us to know with certainty that her menstruation days have begun. In certain cases, seven days are insufficient and she requires more; but in every case, she

does not

require

more than seventeen

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

Gemara:

The Gemara now explains all the distinctions of law included in our Mishna.

The Sages taught: A woman who is uncertain and said, “I saw blood for one day,”

and I do not know whether that day was one of the menstruation days or one of the days of zivah—she returns to

her opening,

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

seventeen

clean days without a sighting. 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. This is the meaning of the Mishna’s statement: “and not more than seventeen days.”

The reason is that after seventeen days, besides the day of the sighting, she has in any event emerged from the concern of uncertain zivah. If the previous sighting occurred during the days of zivah, then, since the eleven days fit for zivah have ended and were clean, the days fit for menstruation now begin. Therefore, the sighting on the nineteenth day is certainly a menstrual sighting.

Even if the previous sighting occurred at the beginning of the days fit for menstruation, both the seven menstruation days and the eleven days of zivah have already passed, since this is now the nineteenth day. Therefore, her present sighting is certainly the beginning of the menstruation days.

But if fewer than this number of days have passed—for example, if she saw on the seventeenth day of the clean count, which is the eighteenth day from the day of the sighting—she has not yet emerged from the uncertainty. Perhaps her previous sighting was during the menstruation days, and after the seven menstruation days, the eleven days of zivah began and have not yet ended. If so, the eighteenth day is the final day of the eleven days of zivah.

But it is possible that the previous sighting was on the first day of the days of zivah. Since eleven days fit for zivah have passed afterward, and she is now on the eighteenth day, the sighting on the eighteenth day occurred on the seventh day of the menstruation days [7 = 18 - 11]. All the more so, if she saw before the seventeenth day of the clean count, it is uncertain whether she is a menstruant or a zavah.

“I saw blood for two days,” [

her latest sighting continued for two days]

her opening

likewise occurs after

seventeen

clean days. If she sees on the eighteenth day after counting seventeen clean days, which is the twentieth day from the beginning of the previous sighting, then in either event it is the opening of menstruation. If the first two days were days of zivah, the days of zivah ended nine days after them [11 - 2 = 9], and when she postponed her sighting until after seventeen clean days, it is certainly during the menstruation days [20 - 11 = 9]. And even if the two days of the sighting were menstruation days, the seven menstruation days and the eleven days of zivah that follow them had already ended after eighteen days, and the menstruation days have begun 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 uncertain. If the two days of the previous sighting were menstruation days, or if both were days of zivah, then by the nineteenth day from her sighting the menstruation days have already begun. But there is concern that the first day on which she saw was the last of the eleven days of zivah, while the second day on which she saw was the first of the seven menstruation days. If so, the cycle of eighteen menstruation and zivah days ends on the seventeenth day of the clean count. That day is therefore the final day of the eleven days of zivah.

“I saw blood for three days; her opening”

likewise occurs after

seventeen

clean days, which is the twenty-first day from the beginning of her sighting. The explanation follows the one given above: If she saw on the eighteenth day of the clean count, whether all three days were days of zivah or all of them were menstruation days, eighteen days have already passed from the previous sighting, and the seven menstruation days and eleven days of zivah have been completed; she therefore returns to the opening of menstruation.

But the seventeenth day itself, which is the eighteenth day from the final day of the sighting, is still subject to the uncertainty of zivah. It is possible that the first two days were the end of the days of zivah and the third day was the beginning of the menstruation days. Thus, the seventeenth day of the clean count is the eighteenth day from the beginning of the previous menstruation days, and the last of the eleven days of zivah.

Up to this point, seventeen clean days are required for her to return to her opening. This is alluded to in the Mishna’s statement, “and not more than seventeen.” From this point onward, the number of clean days required to return her to her opening decreases, until it reaches seven days, as stated in the Mishna: “There is no opening for one who is uncertain with fewer than seven”

“I saw blood for four days; her opening”

occurs after

sixteen

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

There is no concern that perhaps the first three days were the end of the days of zivah, and the menstruation days began only on the fourth day of the sighting, in which case the seventeenth day of the clean count would still be a day of zivah. For if the three consecutive days were days of zivah, then the fourth day is not the beginning of the menstruation days, since a major zavah does not return to the opening of menstruation until she counts seven clean days. Since the fourth day is not counted as the first day of the menstruation days, the sighting that she has on the seventeenth day afterward [17 - 11 = 6] is certainly during the menstruation days.

“I saw blood for five days; her opening”

occurs after

fifteen

clean days, for in either event it is the beginning of the menstruation days, as explained above. But if she sees on the fifteenth day itself, there is concern that the first two days were the end of the days of zivah and the last three were the beginning of the menstruation days. In that case, the seven menstruation days ended on the fourth day of the clean count, and the eleven days of zivah are counted from then and end on the fifteenth day. But there is no concern that the first three days were days of zivah, for if so, the fourth and fifth days were also not menstruation days, since she does not emerge from the days of zivah until she counts seven clean days.

“I saw blood for six days; her opening”

occurs after

fourteen

clean days. Even if the first two days were the end of the days of zivah and the menstruation days began on the third day, the eighteen-day cycle of menstruation and zivah had already ended on the fourteenth day, and the following day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw blood for seven days; her opening”

occurs after

thirteen

clean days, for in either event the fourteenth day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw blood for eight days; her opening”

occurs after

twelve

clean days, for in either event the thirteenth day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw blood for nine days; her opening”

occurs after

eleven

clean days, for in either event the twelfth day is the opening of menstruation.

“Ten

days I saw blood; her opening”

occurs after

ten

clean days, for in either event the eleventh day is the opening of menstruation.

“I saw blood for eleven days; her opening”

occurs after

nine

clean days, for in either event the tenth day is the opening of menstruation.