Niddah 62a (סב.) — the Talmud in English

6.

Kamonia,

a type of herb that, after being ground and dried, is used for cleaning .

7.

And ashlag,

a cleansing substance extracted from the mother-of-pearl shell that is used for cleaning the hands.

The Mishna explains what benefit is gained from applying these substances:

If one immersed it

a garment containing a stain,

and performed taharot upon it,

and after the immersion

he applied the seven substances to it and it did not come off,

the stain—

it is dye!

For these substances have the power to remove bloodstains, but not dye stains; and since they were ineffective against the stain before us, it must be dye .

Therefore,

the taharot

that he performed upon this garment

are pure, and he need not

again

immerse it.

But if, as a result of applying the substances,

the stain came off

the garment

or faded

[i.e., became lighter] in appearance on the garment—

it is a bloodstain,

which again renders the garment on which it is found impure,

and the taharot

that came into contact with the garment

are impure, and it must be immersed

once again. The second immersion, performed after applying the substances, purifies it, because the substances are also effective in purifying menstrual bloodstains so that they will not again impart impurity.

The Mishna explains the first three substances:

What is tasteless saliva?—

Any saliva of a person who has tasted

nothing

at all

that day, since food, which sweetens the saliva, weakens its efficacy .

What are bean waters?—

Chewed beans whose souls have split,

meaning beans that were cooked extensively, until they separated on their own [and not by human intervention] from their husks and are chewed, producing much saliva in the process ; afterward, they are applied to the stain.

Urine—

that has fermented

and begun to stink.

The Mishna explains how the laundering is to be performed with the seven substances.

a.

One must scrub

the garment with his hands

three times for each one and one

of the substances.

b.

If he applied them

the seven substances

out of order, or applied all seven substances at once—

he has done nothing.

Rather, he must launder the stain separately with each of the substances, in the order in which they are listed in the Mishna.

Gemara:

The Gemara explains the last four substances, which the Mishna did not explain:

It was taught: Natron—

Alexandrian natron, and not Antipatran natron.

[from a place called Antipatris ].

Borith. Rav Yehuda said: This is

a substance called

ahala.

The Gemara raises an objection:

But was it not taught: Borith and ohel?

Since “borith” and “ohel” are listed separately in the beraita, this proves that they are not one and the same substance?

Rather, what is borith?—

Kibrita,

[sulfur].

And we raise a contradiction:

We learned the following concerning items to which the laws of the Sabbatical Year apply:

They added to them: halavitzin, hale'onin, borith, and ohel.

And if borith

is

kibrita—

does

sulfur

have the Sabbatical Year?

But we learned: This is the principle: Anything that has a root,

a root from which it grows —

has the sanctity of the Sabbatical Year.

And anything that does not have a root—

does not have the Sabbatical Year!

But sulfur is merely earth, and has no root from which it grows!?

Rather, what is borith?—

Ohel,

as in the first explanation. And the question raised by the Gemara was:

But was it not taught: Borith and ohel!?

This can be resolved by saying that

there are two types of ahala:

one type of ohel is also called borith, while the other is called only ohel.

Kamonia,

Rav Yehuda said: This is

the

sheluf detz.

A type of herb [whose identity has not been explained] that, after being dried and ground, is used for cleaning.

And ashlag.

Shmuel said: I asked the seafarers,

those who go down to sea,

and they said: Its name is ashlaga, and it is found among the holes of pearls

[the mother-of-pearl],

and they extract it with an iron probe.

They remove it with a long iron nail.

We learned in the Mishna:

He immersed it and performed

taharot upon it; he applied seven substances to it and the stain did not come off—it is dye .

The Sages taught: If he applied seven substances to it and the stain did not come off,

the stain, and afterward applied to it a cleansing substance called

“tzafon”

[soap],

and it came off—

his taharot are impure.

We ask: But

tzafon—

does it not remove dye as well?

Why, then, are his taharot impure? We have proof from the fact that the stain did not come off through the seven substances that it is dye and not a stain of blood!

We answer:

Rather, he applied six substances to it and it did not come off; he applied tzafon and it came off—

his taharot are impure.

For if he had applied the seventh from the outset,

perhaps it would have come off 83 .

Another beraita taught: If he applied seven substances to it and it did not come off, repeated them, and it came off—

his taharot are pure,

because if it had been blood, it would have come off the first time. The second time, dye also comes off .

Zeira said: They taught

that his taharot are pure

only with regard to the taharot performed between the first laundering and the second,

because at that time the taharot that came into contact with the garment did not become impure.

But taharot performed after the second laundering—

his taharot are impure! For

by repeating the process rather than being satisfied with the first application,

he was particular about it,

revealing that he was concerned even about the possibility that such a stain might be blood.

And it came off,

meaning that through the second application, the stain acquired the appearance of a bloodstain coming off; therefore, there is concern regarding taharot performed upon the garment after its second laundering .