Niddah 47a (מז.) — the Talmud in English

It is obligated in hallah, and it does not become disqualified through tevul yom –

the words of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon exempt it from hallah.

They assumed:

at the present time,

the one who says that teruma is of Torah origin,

the same applies to

hallah

at the present time: it is

of Torah origin;

whereas

the one who says that teruma

at the present time is

of rabbinic origin,

the same applies to

hallah

at the present time: it is

of rabbinic origin.

Granted, if you say that Rabbi Yosei holds that hallah at the present time is of rabbinic origin,

it works out well that

the term “mixed produce”

a mixture

of rabbinic origin, and it removes

the obligation of

hallah of rabbinic origin.

But if you say that hallah is of Torah origin, can mixed produce of rabbinic origin come and remove

the obligation of

hallah of Torah origin?

Therefore, it is reasonable that Rabbi Yosei holds that terumot, tithes, and hallah at the present time are obligations only by rabbinic decree!

The Gemara rejects the proof:

Perhaps Rabbi Yosei holds that teruma at the present time –

is of Torah origin, whereas hallah is of rabbinic origin?

And it is as Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, responded. For Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: I found the Sages of the house of Rav sitting and saying: Even according to the one who says that teruma at the present time is of rabbinic origin, hallah is of Torah origin, since for seven

years

they conquered

the Land of Israel

and for seven

years

they apportioned it

to each person his inheritance,

they became obligated in hallah [‏

for they became obligated in hallah immediately upon entering the Land]

but they did not become obligated in tithes [‏

for they became obligated in tithes only after they came to the place of rest and inheritance; before each person received his inheritance, although they had already entered the Land, they were not yet obligated in terumot and tithes]. Thus, hallah is more stringent, and therefore even at the present time one is obligated in hallah by Torah law, although terumot and tithes are only rabbinic obligations.

And I said to them [‏

and Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, responded to the Sages who were sitting in the house of Rav]: On the contrary!

Even according to the one who says

that the obligation of

teruma at the present time is of Torah origin,

he concedes that the obligation of

hallah

is only

of rabbinic origin,

as it was taught:

The verse in the passage concerning hallah says, “When you come into the Land,” and the Torah made the time of the obligation dependent upon their coming.

If

the obligation is dependent on

“when you come,” one might have thought that once two or three spies entered the Land,

it would already be considered that the Israelites had come, and the obligation of hallah would take effect.

The verse therefore states: “When you come.” I said this with regard to the coming of all of you, but not the coming of only part of you.

And Rav Huna continues:

And

indeed,

when Ezra brought them up [‏

when Ezra brought the Jews who returned from Babylonia to the Land of Israel, at the time of the construction of the Second Temple],

not all of them went up [‏

and most of the Jewish people remained in Babylonia]; therefore, the “coming of all of you” had still not occurred, and there is no obligation of hallah by Torah law.

Mishna:

The Sages drew a comparison concerning a woman [‏

the Sages compared the three periods of a woman’s development to the three stages of the growth of a fig].

a

. Pagga

is the beginning of the fruit. The Sages used this name for the period when she is a minor, during which no sign of physical maturity yet appears in her, neither in her breasts nor in her pubic hair.

b

. Bohel.

Bohel is a term describing the partial development of the fruit. With regard to a woman, it denotes the period when her breasts become discernible, indicating that she has already developed two pubic hairs and is a na'ara.

c.

And Tzemel [‏

an acronym for yatzta mele'a, “she has emerged fully developed”], when her breasts become full and she is a bogeret.

The tanna explains the differing laws of the three periods:

Pagga –

she is still a child. Bohel –

these are the days of her maidenhood.

During both of these periods [‏

during the days of her minority and the days of her maidenhood],

the Sages said

that

her father is entitled to her lost property, to the proceeds of her labor, and to annul her vows.

Tzemel –

once she has reached maturity, her father no longer has authority over her

in any matter.

What are the signs

of tzemel [‏by which she becomes a bogeret]?

Rabbi Yosei HaGelili says: From the time that the crease appears beneath the breast.

Rabbi Akiva says: From the time that the breasts begin to slope [‏

which is a more advanced stage than that stated by Rabbi Yosei HaGelili].

Ben Azzai says: From the time that the nipple darkens [‏

which is the tip of the breast].

Rabbi Yosei says:

When the breast becomes large

enough that she can place her hand upon the nipple [‏

which is the upper point of the breast]

and it sinks and remains depressed before returning to its former shape.

Gemara:

“Pagga, she is still a child” –

as it is written: “The fig has ripened its early figs,”

for at the time of its initial development, it is called pagga.

“Bohel, these are the days of her maidenhood” –

as we learned:

Figs

become liable for tithes when they enter the bohel stage.

This shows that bohel in the case of figs is the stage at which they are already called fruit and become liable for tithes, even though their ripening is not complete. The same applies to the days of maidenhood: she has developed, but has not yet reached full maturity.

And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rav:

The meaning of “when they enter the bohel stage” is

when their tips turn white,

the figs thereby undergoing a noticeable change. The same applies to a na'ara: her breast changes, and a sign of development becomes discernible.

And if you wish, say

that the expression bohel is

derived from here:

from the verse

“My soul became weary of them, and their soul also loathed me,”

where the expression bohel means “large”; [the explanation of the verse is: the Israelites rejected Me because I was too “great” for them].

“Tzemel,” according to the one who says: “She has emerged fully developed.”

That is, tzemel is an abbreviation of yatzta mele'a, “she has emerged fully developed.”

We learned in the Mishna:

“And what are the signs?” –

Rabbi Yosei HaGelili says: From the time that the crease appears. Shmuel said: Not from the time that the crease actually appears, but

at

the point at which she can move her hands behind her back, and she appears as though a crease has appeared beneath the breast.

Shmuel examined

her

maidservants

in order to determine the changes marking the three periods of development described in the Mishna,

and he gave each of them four zuz as compensation for her humiliation.

For

Shmuel followed his own position

that the master is liable for the humiliation of his slave.

As Shmuel said:

The Torah wrote concerning a Canaanite slave:

“You shall work them forever” –

I gave them to you for work

for you,

but not for humiliation!

Therefore, the master has no right to humiliate his maidservant.

And in accordance with his view, that a person must take care not to humiliate his maidservant,

Shmuel designated for them

a husband. Each maidservant had a slave designated exclusively for her, and he did not exchange the slaves, in order to preserve their dignity and avoid humiliating them.

But

Rav Naḥman

would

exchange for them

the slaves, as he was not concerned for their dignity and humiliation.

Rav Sheshet handed them over to Arabs,

as he made them available to Arabs, thereby causing them even greater humiliation. Nevertheless,

he said to them: “Beware of Israelites,”

so that you do not engage in intercourse with them.

We learned in the Mishna: These are the signs of maturity;

Rabbi Yosei,

until the nipple projects sufficiently:

And the Gemara asks:

What is the “nipple”?

Shmuel said: Its

upper, pointed

tip

of the breast. The Sages taught: These are the signs of maturity –

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Tzadok, says: From the time that the breasts jostle.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka says: From the time that the tip darkens [‏

when it turns black],

the tip of the nipple.

The Gemara is astonished by this: Does she become a bogeret only

when the tip darkens

and not earlier? Yet at this stage, when the tip of the nipple has darkened, she has already

become old [‏

she is considered old relative to a bogeret, meaning that she reached maturity a long time ago]!

Rather, Rav Ashi said:

She becomes a bogeret even before the tip of the nipple darkens. Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka stated his criterion only

from the time that the tip of the nipple splits,

so that an opening appears at the tip of the protrusion from which milk is capable of emerging.

R

abbi Yosei says: From the time that the areola hardens

around the protruding nipple, and this is the same measure stated in our Mishna: until she can place her hand upon the nipple and it sinks.