Niddah 31a — the Talmud in English

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Elazar said: What is the verse?

For they make him swear on the day of birth—as it is stated:

“From my mother’s womb—

You have cut me off!””

And the Gemara explains:

From where is it understood that this “cut me off” is an expression of making an oath, as it is written:

“Cut off your crown and cast it away,”

meaning: Fulfill the oath that you swore at the time of birth, and cast away the evil deeds through which you transgressed it.

Rabbi Elazar said: To what is a fetus compared in its mother’s womb?—

To a nut placed in a bowl of water: if a person places his finger upon it, it sinks here and there.

The Sages taught: During the first three months—

the fetus dwells in the lower chamber

of the womb.

During the three middle months—

the fetus

rises upward and

dwells in the middle chamber. During the three final months—

the fetus dwells in the upper chamber.

And once the time has come for it to emerge—

it turns over and emerges!

And this is “the pangs of—

a woman,”

for the turning over from above to below is difficult for her.

And the Gemara adds:

And this is what was taught: The pangs

of childbirth

of a

woman giving birth to

a female are greater than those of

a woman giving birth to

a male!

For the turning over of the female is more difficult than the turning over of the male, as will be explained shortly.

And the Gemara brings a source for the first beraita:

And Rabbi Elazar said: What is the verse?—

“What I made in secret, what I knitted in the lowest parts of the earth.”

“I dwelt

in the lowest parts of the earth”

was not stated, but rather

“I knitted,”

for the knitting, which is the first formation, was done in the lower chamber, whereas the “dwelling” afterward was in the middle and upper chambers.

And the Gemara explains the additional beraita:

Why are the pangs of a female greater than those of a male?

Because

this one comes in the manner of its intercourse, and that one comes in the manner of its intercourse.

For the male, at the time of intercourse, has its face turned downward, while the female has its face turned upward. And when they are born, they emerge in the manner of their intercourse: the male with its face turned downward, and the female with its face turned upward. And since during gestation the fetus bends its head downward between its knees, when it emerges there is a difference between a male and a female, for

this one,

the female,

turns its face

which had been toward its knees, downward, to face upward.

But this one,

the male,

does not turn its face,

because its manner is to emerge with its face downward; and this turning of the face is what causes the pangs of the female to be greater than those of the male.

The Sages taught:

During the first three months—

intercourse is difficult for the woman and also difficult for the fetus.

During the three

middle

months, intercourse is

difficult for the woman and beneficial for the fetus.

During the three

final

months, intercourse is

beneficial for the woman and beneficial for the fetus, for as a result the fetus is found whitened and invigorated!

A tanna taught: One who has intercourse on the ninetieth day—

it is as though he sheds blood.

For since one-third of the fetus’s days have passed in the formation of its vitality, intercourse is dangerous for it at this time.

And we raise an objection:

From where does he know

when the ninetieth day is, so that he may take care to avoid intercourse?

And we answer:

Rather, Abaye said—

He continues having intercourse,

without knowing when that day is,

and “the Lord preserves the simple”!

The Sages taught: There are three partners in a person—

the Holy One, blessed be He, his father, and his mother.

His father—

provides the white substance, from which come the bones, the sinews, the nails, the brain in his head, and the white of the eye.

His mother—

provides the red substance, from which come the skin, the flesh, the hair, and the black of the eye.

And the Holy One, blessed be He—

gives him spirit and soul, the features of the face, sight of the eye, hearing of the ear, speech of the mouth, the ability to walk, and knowledge, understanding, and intellect.

And once the time has come for him to depart from the world—

the Holy One, blessed be He, takes His share.

And his father’s and mother’s share—

He leaves before them!

Rav Pappa said: This is what people say—

“Throw away the salt, and cast the meat to the dog!”

For when the salt is removed from meat, it is no longer fit for human consumption, but only for dogs. And likewise is a person’s soul in relation to the body: if the soul is taken, the body stinks.

Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa expounded: What is it that is written:

“Who does great things beyond investigation and wonders without number”?

Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, is unlike the attribute of flesh and blood. The attribute of flesh and blood is this: He places an object in a tied sack whose opening is above—

it may be preserved, and it may not be preserved! But the Holy One, blessed be He, forms the fetus in an open woman’s womb, whose opening is below—

and it is preserved!

Alternatively: A person places his objects on the pan of a balance—

whenever it becomes heavier, it descends below. But the Holy One, blessed be He: whenever the fetus becomes heavier—

it rises upward,

as was stated above, that at first it dwells in the lower chamber and afterward rises to the upper one!

Rabbi Yose the Galilean expounded: What is it that is written, “I thank You, for I have been made awesomely distinct; wondrous are Your works, and my soul knows it very well”?

287. Come and see—

that the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, is unlike the attribute of flesh and blood.

The attribute of flesh and blood is this: A person places seeds in a garden bed, and each one rises according to its kind

and the seeds do not mix with one another!

But the Holy One, blessed be He, forms the fetus in a woman’s womb, and they all rise as one kind

for one creature is formed from the father’s seed and the mother’s seed.

Alternatively: A dyer places different dyes

in a

kettle—

they all rise as one color!

For the colors mix and only one color is produced in the kettle, and it is impossible to dye several colors from a single kettle.

But the Holy One, blessed be He, forms the fetus in a woman’s womb—

each and every one

of the fetus’s components

rises according to its kind!

The white comes from the man, and the black from the woman.

Rav Yosef expounded: What is it that is written, “I thank You, Lord, for You were angry with me; Your anger has turned back, and You have comforted me”? What does the verse speak of?—

Of two people who went out for business, and a thorn lodged in one of them,

so that he could not leave.

He began reviling and cursing. After some time he heard that his fellow’s ship had sunk in the sea; he began thanking and praising. Therefore it is stated—

“Your anger has turned back, and You have comforted me!”

And this is what Rabbi Elazar said: What is it that is written, “Who alone performs wonders; blessed be His glorious Name forever”?—

Even the recipient of the miracle—

does not recognize his miracle!

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa expounded: What is it that is written, “You sift my path and my resting place, and are familiar with all my ways”? It teaches that a person is not formed from every drop

of the seed,

but rather

only

from the choicest of it.

The school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: A parable to a person

who sifts

in the threshing floor: He takes the edible portion and leaves the refuse! This is like Rabbi Abbahu, for Rabbi Abbahu juxtaposed

verses against one another— \-

It is written, “You girded me with strength,”

an expression of sifting and deficiency,

and it is written, “The God who girds me with strength,”

an expression of girding with power?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the world, You sifted me

and formed me from the good part of the drop,

and

afterward

You invigorated me. 290.

Rabbi Abbahu expounded: What is it that is written, “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and number the quarter of Israel”?—

It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and counts the quarters of Israel, and awaits—

When will the drop from which the righteous person will be formed come?!

And over this matter Balaam’s eye was blinded,

because

he said: Would He who is pure and holy, whose attendants are pure and holy, look at such a matter?

Immediately—

his eye was blinded! For it is written, “The utterance of the man whose eye is blinded.” 292.

And this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is it that is written, “And he lay with her that night”?

And the expression “that night”

teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, assisted in that act, as it is stated, “Issachar is a strong-boned donkey”—

a donkey

of Jacob that turned toward Leah’s tent through the intervention of the Holy One, blessed be He,

caused Issachar

to be born to Leah. And this matter is not dishonorable toward Heaven to discuss.

Rabbi Yitzḥak said in the name of Rabbi Ami: If a woman emits seed first—

she gives birth to a male!

If a man emits seed first—

she gives birth to a female!

As it is stated: “When a woman emits seed—

and gives birth to a male”!

The Sages taught: At first they would say—

If a woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male; if a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female. But the Sages did not explain the matter,

from where they knew this.

Until Rabbi Tzadok came—

and explained it: “These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, and Dinah

his daughter.”

He attached the males,

the sons of Leah,

to the females,

to Leah their mother,

and the females,

Dinah,

to the males

[her daughter].

“And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, those who draw the bow, and who increased sons and grandsons”—

But is it in a person’s power to increase sons and grandsons?