Niddah 30a (ל.) — the Talmud in English

And the Gemara asks:

Once the days of purity

which, because she does not know when they ended, require her to immerse every evening,

how many are there—

sixty-six [66].

However, it is impossible to add all of them to the total of the thirty-five immersions that she performed during the first three weeks, because the third week overlaps with the first seven days of the count of sixty-six days of purity.

Therefore,

subtract

[subtract] from the count of sixty-six

the third week, during which we immersed her

because she had given birth to a female after experiencing ziva; these immersions also served in case the days of purity had ended on one of those nights. And these immersions have already been counted.

There remain

only

sixty minus one! [59]

immersions to add to the total. Now one must combine

sixty minus one [59]

immersions that she performs because of the possibility that the days of purity have ended

and

the

thirty-five [35]

immersions that she performs during the first three weeks. In all,

there are ninety-four!

If so, there is a difficulty: The

ninety-five

immersions required by Beit Shammai—

what are they for?!

And for what purpose does she perform one additional immersion?

The Gemara answers:

Rav Yirmeya of Difti said: For example,

she came before us

at first

during twilight, and we gave her one additional immersion.

As soon as she arrived, we immersed her that night, in case her days of impurity had ended on the preceding day. But the count of ninety-four immersions begins only with the immersion on the following night , because there is concern that she may have given birth during this twilight. If this twilight is considered night, it follows that she gave birth on the day she arrived, and the count of the days begins from that day and not from the preceding day.

The Gemara explains the opinion of Beit Hillel:

And according to Beit Hillel, who say, “one who immersed during a long day,”

that is, a woman who has given birth at the end of her days of purity, who immerses in order to eat teruma,

she does not require an immersion

additional to the completion of the eighty days—

thirty-five

immersions—

what are they for?

The first twenty-eight

immersions,

as we said

regarding the opinion of Beit Shammai: seven at night during the first week because she may have given birth to a male , plus seven at night during the second week because she may have given birth to a female, plus seven during the day because she may have given birth to a male after experiencing ziva, plus seven during the day in the third week because she may have given birth to a female after experiencing ziva. In addition, there is

this fifth week,

during which

we immerse her every night, for perhaps she is a woman at the end of her menstrual period!

For during the fourth week she saw blood every day, and it is not known on any given day whether this was a sighting during the days of purity, or whether the days of purity had ended on the preceding day and she had now begun her days of menstruation. Therefore, on every day of the following week [which is the fifth week], there is concern that the days of menstruation that began during the preceding week may have ended, and she must immerse at night in order to become pure from her menstrual impurity.

The Gemara continues to clarify the matter of the ten weeks mentioned in the beraita:

“Ten weeks,”

which the beraita mentions for the purpose of counting ninety-five immersions—

why do I need this?

For

eight and a half would suffice,

since she does not immerse during the final week and a half. For, together with the three weeks of purity and the additional eight and a half weeks [5. 1 1], eighty days have already passed [5. 80=7 \ 5. 1 1], during which there is concern that she might complete the count of the eighty days of childbirth; from that point onward there is no longer any room for doubt. If so, why did the tanna in the Mishna count ten weeks?!

The Gemara answers:

Since the tanna taught half of a week,

as the tanna had to count the first half of the ninth week,

he extended it

and counted the entire week.

And since he taught “a week of impurity,”

which is the ninth week,

he also taught a week of purity

that follows it , in order to complete the alternating sequence, in which a week of purity always followed a week of impurity.

The Gemara asks: According to Beit Hillel, why is it sufficient for her to perform thirty-five immersions?

But there is the immersion of a zava!

Beginning with the sixth week, she is possibly a zava throughout the entire period. For she does not know whether the sighting during the fourth week was blood during the days of purity, in which case the sighting during the sixth week was the beginning of her menstruation, or whether the sighting during the fourth week was the beginning of her menstruation, in which case the sighting during the sixth week was a sighting of ziva [since it occurred within eleven days after the seven days of menstruation]. And the same uncertainty recurs with the sighting during the eighth week: If the sighting during the sixth week was menstruation, the sighting during the eighth week was ziva; and if the sighting during the sixth week was ziva, the days of menstruation have already returned by the eighth week. The same pattern continues through the tenth week.

If so, at the end of every week of purity she must be concerned that perhaps the seven days of purity are the seven clean days of a zava, and she must immerse on the seventh day. Should the four immersions at the end of the seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth weeks be added to Beit Hillel’s count of thirty-five immersions? The Gemara answers: Immersions

before marital relations,

which are permitted only on the thirty-fifth day,

he counts

—Beit Hillel counts. But immersions

after marital relations,

beginning on the thirty-fifth day and thereafter,

he does not count.

The Gemara asks:

And according to Beit Shammai, who counts

also the immersions

after marital relations

within the count of ninety-five immersions,

let him also count the immersion of a zava,

which take place during the day and were not included in the count of ninety-five immersions, making the total ninety-nine immersions?

The Gemara answers: We are dealing with immersions associated

with childbirth,

but we are not dealing with immersions associated

with ziva.

The Gemara challenges this:

But there is “a woman who gives birth after experiencing ziva,”

whose immersions Beit Shammai counted during the second and third weeks, when she immerses during the day as well because of the concern that she is a zava?

The Gemara answers:

“A woman who gives birth after experiencing ziva” he counts,

because the count of the days of purity associated with the ziva was delayed by the count of the days of impurity associated with childbirth, and it is therefore related to childbirth. But

ordinary ziva he does not count!

The Gemara asks about the count of immersions during the first week:

During the first week after she arrives—

let her immerse

in addition to the nighttime immersions, also

during the day, for perhaps each and every day her “counted days” have been completed

that is, perhaps she gave birth while a zava during the third week before her arrival, and the count of fourteen days of impurity and seven clean days was completed during the first week after her arrival.

The Gemara answers:

Whose opinion is this?

It is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, who says, “we require

seven clean days

counted before us.”

This is as it is stated regarding a zava: “And if she becomes purified from her ziva, she shall count for herself seven days, and afterward she may become pure.” That is, only days on which she examined herself and knows that she was pure count toward the seven clean days. This woman did not examine herself; therefore, even if in fact she was pure, those days do not count for her, since she does not know that she was pure, and there was no counting during them.

The Gemara asks further:

At the end of the first week,

on the seventh day, after she has counted seven clean days before us,

let her immerse

in the morning, in case it is the seventh day of a zava’s counting of seven clean days, and let us add this immersion to the total number of immersions. Why, then, does she immerse only at night throughout the first week?

The Gemara answers: We are not dealing with an immersion that occurs only

once a week;

therefore, we did not include it in the count of immersions.

The Gemara asks further:

On the first day after she arrives—

let her immerse,

in the morning, because

perhaps she is one who observes one day corresponding to one day?

We should be concerned that she saw blood during the days of ziva for only one or two days, thereby becoming a minor zava, whose status is that she must count one clean day and immerse in the morning of that day.

The Gemara answers:

We are dealing with a major zava,

who saw blood during her days of ziva for three consecutive days and must count seven clean days;

we are dealing with

a minor zava, who saw blood during her days of ziva for only one or two days and must observe one day corresponding to one day—

we are not dealing with her!

The Gemara concludes:

Infer from this

the laws of the beraita

three:

a.

Infer from this that it is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, who says, “we require [the days] counted before us.”

Therefore, she does not immerse in the mornings during the first week.

b.

And infer from this that it is the opinion of Rabbi Shimon,

who said that a zava who immerses on the seventh day may, in principle, have marital relations on that day,

but the Sages said that it is prohibited to do so, lest she come to a situation of uncertainty,

for if she sees blood later that day, she retroactively invalidates her days of purity and her immersion, and it turns out that she had marital relations while prohibited. Therefore, she has marital relations only on the night of the thirty-fifth day, and not during the day of the twenty-first day.

c.

And infer from this that immersion at its proper time is a mitzva,

and therefore we immersed her every day even though she was still prohibited from marital relations.

The Gemara concludes its explanation of the beraita:

And Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: It is sufficient for her to immerse last,

and she immerses only once, when she becomes permitted to have marital relations,

and we do not say that immersion at its proper time is a mitzva!

Mishna:

A woman who miscarries

a placenta

on the fortieth day

from the beginning of the pregnancy —

she need not be concerned for a fetus,

for it is certain to us that its limbs had not yet been formed. A woman who miscarries

on the forty-first day—

she observes the periods of impurity for a male, for a female, and for menstruation,

because perhaps its limbs had been formed, but it is unknown whether it was male or female. Conversely, perhaps it was not a fetus at all, in which case she has no days of purity and is merely an ordinary menstruant.

Rabbi Yishmael says:

A woman who miscarries

on the forty-first day—

she observes the periods of impurity for a male and for menstruation,

but not for a female.

A woman who miscarries on the eighty-first day—

she observes the periods of impurity for a male, for a female, and for menstruation.

Rabbi Yishmael’s reasoning is

that the male is fully formed by forty-one days, whereas the female,

according to him, is fully formed

by eighty-one

days.

And the Sages say:

Whether the formation of the male or the formation of the female, both this and that—

forty-one

days.

Gemara:

The Mishna states that a woman who miscarries “on the forty-first day observes the periods of impurity for a male, for a female, and for menstruation.” The Gemara asks:

Why was “male” mentioned

in our Mishna?

If it is with regard to the days of impurity

of a male,

it already teaches

that she observes the fourteen days of impurity of a

female,

which include the seven days of impurity of a male.