Niddah 47a — the Talmud in English

is obligated in ḥalla, and is not rendered unfit through tevul yom -

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

They assumed: the one who says that teruma

at the present time

is from the Torah,

the same is true of

ḥalla

at the present time: it is

from the Torah,

whereas

the one who says that teruma

at the present time

is rabbinic,

the same is true of

ḥalla

at the present time: it is

rabbinic.

If you say, this is understandable: Rabbi Yosei holds that ḥalla at the present time is rabbinic,

it works well that

“dimua”

a mixture

that is rabbinic, and removes

the obligation of

rabbinic ḥalla.

But if you say that ḥalla is from the Torah, does a rabbinic dimua come and remove

the obligation of

ḥalla from the Torah?

And therefore it is reasonable that Rabbi Yosei holds that terumot, maasrot, and ḥalla at the present time carry an obligation only by rabbinic decree!

The Gemara rejects the proof:

Perhaps Rabbi Yosei holds that teruma at the present time -

is from the Torah, while ḥalla is rabbinic?

And as Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua replied. 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 rabbinic, ḥalla is from the Torah, for seven

years

during which they conquered

the Land

and seven

years

during which they apportioned

the inheritance to each one,

they became obligated in ḥalla

[for they became obligated in ḥalla immediately when they entered the Land]

but did not become obligated in maaser

[for they became obligated in maaser only after they came to the rest and the inheritance, but before each one received an inheritance, although they had already come to the Land, they were not yet obligated in terumot and maasrot]. And if so, ḥalla is more stringent, and therefore even at the present time they are obligated in ḥalla by Torah law, although terumot and maasrot are only rabbinic.

And I said to them

[and Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua replied 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 from the Torah,

he concedes that the obligation of

ḥalla

is only

rabbinic,

as it was taught:

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

If

the obligation depends on

“when you come,” one might say: from when two or three spies entered it,

it is already considered that Israel came and the obligation of ḥalla took effect?

The verse says, “When you come.” I said: with the coming of all of you, and not with the coming of a part of you.

And Rav Huna continues:

and

behold,

when Ezra brought them up

[when Ezra brought up the Babylonian exiles to the Land of Israel, at the building of the Second Temple]

not all of them went up

[and most of Israel remained in Babylonia], and therefore “the coming of all of you” had still not taken place, and there is no obligation of ḥalla 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

. Paga

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

b

. Bokhel.

In a fruit, bokhel is a designation for partial growth. In a woman, it indicates the period during which her breasts are discernible, for then it is known that she has already produced two hairs, and she is a naara.

c.

And tzelem

[an acronym: “she emerged full”], when her breasts become full, and she is a bogeret.

And the tanna explains the differing laws of the three periods:

Paga -

she is still a child. Bokhel -

these are the days of her youth.

In both this one and that one

[during the days of her childhood and during the days of her youth]

they said

the Sages:

her father is entitled to what she finds, to the product of her hands, and to the annulment of her vows.

Tzelem -

once she has matured, her father no longer has authority over her

in any matter.

What are the signs

of tzelem [by which she becomes a bogeret]?

Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: from when the fold appears beneath the breast.

Rabbi Akiva says: from when the breasts incline

[which is a greater measure than the measure of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean].

Ben Azzai says: from when the nipple darkens

[which is the head of the breast].

Rabbi Yosei says:

when the breast grows

enough that she can place her hand upon the point

[which is the upper point of the breast]

and it sinks and delays in returning.

Gemara:

“Paga, she is still a child” -

as it is written, “The fig tree has formed its early figs,”

for at the time of forming, which is the beginning of growth, it is called paga.

“Bokhel, these are the days of youth” -

as we learned: figs

are obligated in maaser

from when they enter the stage of bokhel.

And we see that bikhula in figs is the time when they are already called fruit and become obligated in maaser, although their ripening is not complete; and the same applies to the days of youth, when she has grown but is not yet mature.

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

the meaning of “from when they enter the stage of bokhel” is

from when their tips become white

of the figs, for then a noticeable change has occurred in them. And the same applies to a young woman: when the breast changes, a sign of growth is discernible.

And if you wish, say:

the expression bokhel is

from here:

from the verse

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

and the expression bokhel means “large” [and the explanation of the verse is: Israel became disgusted with Me because I was too “large” for them].

“Tzelem,” according to the one who says, “she emerged full.”

That is, tzelem is an abbreviation of “she emerged full.”

We learned in the Mishna:

“And what are the signs?” -

“Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: from when the fold appears.” Shmuel said: not when the fold actually appears, but

when

she is able to move her hands behind her, and she appears as one upon whom the fold beneath the breast has appeared.

Shmuel examined

her

maidservants

their breasts, in order to determine the changes of the three periods of development explained in the Mishna,

and he gave her four dinars as payment for her humiliation.

For

Shmuel followed his own reasoning

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

For Shmuel said:

The Torah wrote concerning a Canaanite slave

“You shall work them forever” -

for work I gave them

to you

and not for humiliation!

And therefore the master has no right to humiliate his maidservant.

And according to his position, that a person must take care not to humiliate his maidservant,

Shmuel designated for them

a husband for his maidservants, so that each maidservant had a slave designated only for her, and he would not exchange the slaves, in order to preserve their honor and not humiliate them.

But

Rav Naḥman

would

exchange for them

slaves, for he was not concerned for their honor and humiliation.

Rav Sheshet handed them over to an Arab,

for he made them available to Arabs, and their humiliation was greater. But at the same time,

he said to them: “Be careful of Israelites,”

so that you should not have intercourse with him.

We learned in the Mishna: these are the signs of maturity,

Rabbi Yosei,

until he can place ink upon the point:

And the Gemara asks:

What is the point?

Shmuel said: its point

the sharp upper one

of the breast.

The Sages taught: These are the signs of maturity -

Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Tzadok says: from when the breasts quiver.

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says: from when the tip darkens

[from when it becomes black]

of the nipple.

And the Gemara expresses astonishment at this: Is it only

from when it darkens

that she is mature? But at this stage, when the tip of the nipple has darkened, she has already

become an old woman

[she is considered old in relation to a bogeret, meaning that she matured long ago]!?

Rather, Rav Ashi said:

even before the tip of the nipple becomes dark, she is mature. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka said only

from when the tip of the nipple splits,

so that at the head of the point of the opening from which milk is fit to emerge, it becomes visible.

R

abbi Yosei says: from when the areola becomes firm

around the protruding point, and that is the same measure stated in our Mishna - enough that she can place her hand upon the point and it sinks.