Berakhot 22a — the Talmud in English

Rather, is it not -

it is Rabbi Judah, and he teaches it specifically ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location") in a case where at first she

was serving

afterward

saw menstrual blood,

in order to make known that the view of Rabbi Judah is that she

does not require immersion

even in a case where the impurity of seminal emission preceded the impurity of menstruation, because there is no obligation of immersion in a place where it does not purify completely. And it follows that only in a case where a ba'al keri has another impurity more severe than it, only there did Rabbi Judah exempt him from immersion before Torah study,

but one who has only a seminal emission is obligated.

And how did he say in the Mishna that one who has a seminal emission may recite a blessing?

The Gemara rejects:

Do not say

in the words of Rabbi Judah in the Mishna, “One who has a seminal emission

recites a blessing,”

but only

“thinks it in his heart.”

The Gemara asks:

And does Rabbi Judah indeed hold

that there is a rationale to distinguish between

thinking

and speech?

And it was taught in a beraita: One who has a seminal emission and has no water with which to immerse recites the recitation of the Shema. But he does not recite a blessing before it or afterward. Rather, he thinks it in his heart,

and does not bring it out with his lips, the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Judah says: In either case he brings it out with his lips.

And it is proven that Rabbi Judah permits one who has a seminal emission even to speak.

Rav Naḥman said: Rabbi Judah made

the recitation of the blessings

like

the study of

the laws of proper conduct,

whose study is easy, and which was permitted to one who has a seminal emission.

And we find that Rabbi Judah permits one who has a seminal emission to study the laws of proper conduct,

as it was taught: It is stated [Deuteronomy 4]

“

And you shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children.” And it is written afterward, “The day on which you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb.” Just as there,

at Horeb, they stood to hear the word of the Lord

with awe and with fear, with trembling and with quaking, so here,

in “And you shall make them known to your children,” which refers to all study of

Torah,

one must study it

with awe and with fear, with trembling and with quaking.

From here they said

the Sages:

Those who have gonorrhea, and lepers, and those who have intercourse with menstruating women,

who immersed themselves for their seminal emissions, even though their impurity is severe,

are permitted to read in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings,

and likewise

to study Mishna, Gemara, laws, and aggadot,

because they can be with awe and with fear.

But those who have seminal emissions,

even though their impurity is light,

are prohibited

from reading and studying, because their impurity comes from frivolity, and they are not in a state of awe and fear .

Rabbi Yose says: He studies the regular passages,

the Mishnayot familiar in his mouth, which he recites quickly and does not examine their explanation,

provided that he does not expound

the explanation of

the Mishna.

Rabbi Jonathan ben Joseph says: He expounds the Mishna, but he does not expound the Gemara.

Rabbi Natan ben Avishalom says: He may even expound the Gemara, provided that he does not utter the Divine Names in it,

that is, in the verses brought in the Gemara [or in the exposition] .

Rabbi Yohanan the sandal-maker, the student of Rabbi Akiva, in the name of Rabbi Akiva, says: He should not enter the house of study at all,

for it is prohibited for him both to expound and to study, but he enters the house of study and remains silent.

And

there are those who

say it

was stated thus:

He should not enter the house of study at all.

Rabbi Judah says: He studies the laws of proper conduct.

For they are the ways of Torah scholars explained in tractate Derekh Eretz, and they are easy study, into which one need not delve.

An incident involving Rabbi Judah, who saw a seminal emission and was walking along the riverbank

to seek a suitable place for immersion.

His students said to him:

Until you immerse,

teach us one chapter in the laws of proper conduct. He went down, immersed, and taught them. They said to him:

But

did you not teach us thus, our teacher: “He studies the laws of proper conduct”? -

He said to them: Even though I am lenient with others

to study before immersion,

I am stringent with myself.

And it follows that Rabbi Judah’s reason in our Mishna for permitting the recitation of the Shema and the blessing after the meal is that he regarded the speech in them as easy study of the laws of proper conduct.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Judah ben Beteira used to say: Words of Torah do not contract impurity.

And one who has a seminal emission need not refrain from studying Torah .

An incident involving one student who was

one who had a seminal emission, and therefore he was

stammering

before Rabbi Judah ben Beteira.

He said to him: My son, open your mouth

to speak clearly

and your words will shine, for

indeed

words of Torah do not contract

impurity,

because their law is like that of fire,

as it is stated [Jeremiah 23:29]

“Is not My word like fire, declares the Lord” -

just as fire does not contract impurity, so words of Torah do not contract impurity.

The Master said [

Rabbi Jonathan ben Joseph in the beraita]:

He expounds the Mishna, but he does not expound the Gemara.

This supports Rabbi Ilai.

For Rabbi Ilai said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa bar Yaakov in the name of our master [

Rav]:

The halakha is: He expounds the Mishna, but he does not expound the Gemara.

And this law depends on a dispute

among the Tannaim: He expounds the Mishna, but he does not expound the Gemara, the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Judah ben Gamaliel says in the name of Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel: Both this and that,

Mishna and Gemara,

are prohibited

to one who has a seminal emission.

And some say

in the name of Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel:

Both this and that are permitted.

The one who says, “Both this and that are prohibited,”

holds

like Rabbi Yohanan the sandal-maker,

who does not engage in exposition at all .

The one who says, “Both this and that are permitted,”

holds

like Rabbi Judah ben Beteira,

that one who has a seminal emission is permitted to study words of Torah.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: The world now follows

now

the world

the halakha in practice leniently

like these three elders:

A.

Like Rabbi Ilai -

concerning the first shearing,

B.

Like Rabbi Josiah -

concerning diverse kinds,

C.

Like Rabbi Judah ben Beteira -

concerning words of Torah.

And the Gemara explains:

A.

Like Rabbi Ilai concerning the first shearing -

as it was taught, [

Hullin 135a]

Rabbi Ilai says:

The law of giving

the first shearing

to a kohen

applies only in the Land of Israel.

B.

Like Rabbi Josiah concerning diverse kinds -

as it is written [Deuteronomy 22:9]

“You shall not sow your vineyard with diverse kinds.” Rabbi Josiah says: One is never liable

for lashes for sowing diverse kinds

until he sows wheat, barley, and a grape seed in one act,

that he takes in his hand a grape seed together with two other kinds of grain and sows them all at once in the field; but if he sows only wheat with barley, or one of the two in a vineyard, he is not lashed because of diverse kinds.

C.

Like Rabbi Judah ben Beteira concerning words of Torah -

as it was taught: Rabbi Judah ben Beteira says: Words of Torah do not contract impurity,

and therefore one who has a seminal emission is not obligated to immerse before Torah study.

When Zeiri came

from the Land of Israel to Babylonia,

he said:

The Sages

nullified the immersions

of one who has a seminal emission for Torah and prayer .

And some say,

Zeiri said this:

They nullified the hand-washings,

hand-washing for prayer.

The one who says, “They nullified the immersions,”

holds

like Rabbi Judah ben Beteira,

that one who has a seminal emission is not obligated to immerse before Torah study.

The one who says, “They nullified the hand-washings,”

held,

like this,

as we found above [15a]

that Rav Hisda cursed

he was particular

at one who seeks water,

at one who seeks water for washing for prayer,

at the time of prayer,

at the time of prayer.

The Sages taught: One who experienced a seminal emission and had nine kav of drawn water poured over him

is considered

ritually pure

with regard to Torah study and prayer, but not for matters of Torah law, such as eating teruma]:

Naḥum of Gam Zo whispered it [that is, he communicated this leniency discreetly]

to Rabbi Akiva: that pouring nine kav of water is sufficient,

and Rabbi Akiva whispered it to Ben Azzai. And Ben Azzai went out and taught it to his students in the marketplace.

Two amoraim in the West,

that is, in Eretz Yisrael, disputed this matter:

Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei bar Zevida:

One taught: He taught it

to Ben Azzai’s students.

And one taught: He whispered it

to them.

And the Gemara explains:

The one who taught, “He taught it,”

held that Ben Azzai publicized this leniency

because

immersion entails

neglecting Torah study, and because

the difficulty of immersion causes

neglect of having children.

And the one who taught, “He whispered it,”

held that Ben Azzai kept this leniency private, so

Torah scholars would not be constantly with their wives like roosters,

which engage in frequent intercourse. Therefore, they required them to immerse.

Rabbi Yannai said: I heard that

there are

those who are lenient concerning it

and suffice with having nine kav poured over them,

and I heard that

there are

those who are stringent concerning it

and insist on immersing in forty se'a before Torah study.

And anyone who is stringent with himself in this matter will have his days and years prolonged.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said

[rhetorically]:

“What is the purpose of those who immerse at dawn?!”

And the Gemara asks: Did Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi really wonder

“What is their purpose”

when referring to those who immerse in the morning!?

But he is the one who said

earlier [21b]:

“One who experienced a seminal emission is prohibited from words of Torah”!

The Gemara explains:

This is what he meant: “What is their purpose”

in immersing

in forty se'a?

After all,

nine kav are sufficient .

And he also wondered:

“What is their purpose in immersing?”

After all,

pouring is sufficient! [That is, forty se'a must be contained in the ground, and one must enter them and immerse in them, whereas the nine kav are taken in a vessel

and poured over oneself].

Rabbi Ḥanina said: They established a great safeguard concerning it

by requiring those who experienced a seminal emission to immerse specifically in forty se'a.

As it was taught in a beraita: There was an incident involving a man who solicited a woman

who was unmarried

to engage in forbidden intercourse.

She said to him: “Worthless man!”

Do

you have forty se'a in which you can immerse

after the act?

He immediately withdrew

from her.

Rav Huna said to the Sages: My masters, why are you treating this immersion lightly

on the basis of the words of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira?

If it is because of the cold,

there is no need to immerse in a cold ritual bath, because

it is possible

to immerse in forty se'a of drawn water , which can be heated

in bathhouses .

Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Huna

:

“Is there immersion in

drawn

hot water

in bathhouses? After all, immersion by one who experienced a seminal emission is also specifically in water gathered in the ground.”

He said to him,

Rav Huna said to Rav Ḥisda:

“Rav Adda bar Ahava

agrees with you,”

that his immersion must be in the ground and not in vessels. But I maintain that one who experienced a seminal emission may immerse in vessels for the purpose of Torah study.

Rabbi Zeira was sitting in a basin

—a large tub—

of water in the bathhouse

in the bathhouse.

He said to his attendant: “Go and bring me nine kav, and pour them over me,”

that is, pour them over me.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to him: Why does my master need all this? After all,

my master

is sitting inside them,

inside the nine kav of water.

He said to him:

The law of the nine kav is

like

the law

of forty se'a,

and they must be used in the manner for which they were instituted, rather than in another manner:

Just as forty se'a

purify only

through immersion

in them,

and not by pouring. So too, nine kav

purify only

through pouring

over the body

and not through immersion.

Rav Naḥman prepared a jar

—a water container—

containing nine kav

from which the students would pour water over themselves each morning before beginning their studies .

When Rav Dimi came, he said: Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehuda Galusta said: They taught

that having nine kav poured over a person is effective

only for a sick person

who experienced a seminal emission

due to circumstances beyond his control. But a sick person who habitually causes the emission

—who continues the impurity of the emission through intercourse—must immerse in

forty se'a.

Rav Yosef said:

If so,

Rav Naḥman’s jar is broken!

That is, it is unnecessary, because only a sick person who experienced an emission beyond his control may use it, and a sick person who does not engage in intercourse at all is uncommon .