Niddah 63a — the Talmud in English

And

Rabbi Yoḥanan

held that although it can be removed ![](pamud.bmp "

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if he is particular about removing it—

yes; if not—

no. The beraita that states that if it can be removed it is impure is discussing a case in which he is particular about removing it, and in such a case Rabbi Yoḥanan agrees that it is impure .

And the beraita that stated that if it can emerge it is impure is dealing with a case in which he is particular that it emerge; and in that case Rabbi Yohanan agrees that it is impure.

We learned in the Mishna:

What is tasteless saliva?

Anything that one has not tasted.

A tanna taught: Anything that one has not tasted since the previous evening.

Rav Pappa thought to say before Rava: It is referring to one who did not taste anything at night,

meaning that he had already eaten nothing during the preceding night.

Rava said to him: Does it teach

“in the evening”—

“since the evening”

it teaches,

meaning that from the evening onward he did not eat,

excluding a case where he ate early,

before daybreak ,

and ate

after awakening from his sleep. Sleep is what strengthens the saliva, whereas eating nullifies its strength. Therefore, the saliva can cleanse only when he has not tasted anything from the time he awoke onward.

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is tasteless saliva—

any saliva over which midnight has passed, and during which there was sleep,

meaning that he slept from midnight until morning , so that the saliva became properly strengthened.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

Is it to say that the matter depends on sleep?

But didn’t we learn in the Mishna: If he slept all day—

this is not tasteless saliva; if he remained awake all night—

this is tasteless saliva!

This shows that the night itself has an effect even without any sleep at all.

The Gemara answers:

There—

it is referring to one who dozes,

and a brief doze is sufficient from midnight until morning to strengthen the saliva.

The Gemara explains:

What are the circumstances of one who dozes?

Rav Ashi said: He is asleep [

sleeping]

but not completely asleep, awake [

awake]

but not completely awake.

This state is characterized by the following:

if they call to him—

he answers,

but

he cannot reason out a response on his own,

whereas

if they remind him—

he remembers. 101 .

.

A tanna taught: If one rose early and reviewed his learning,

even though he had eaten nothing,

this is not tasteless saliva.

Speech too diminishes the power of the saliva.

The Gemara explains:

And how much

speech causes the power of the saliva to weaken?

Rav Yehuda bar Sheila said that Rav Ashi said that Rabbi Elazar said: Any amount that leaves his mouth

equivalent to

most of the speech of three hours.

We learned in the Mishna: Bean water—

the saliva produced by chewing beans.

The Gemara discusses this:

Shall we say that the Mishna, which requires the bean to be chewed so that saliva will be mixed into the bean water, thereby

supports

the opinion of Reish Lakish?

As Reish Lakish said: Tasteless saliva must be present with each and every one

of the ingredients.

The Gemara rejects this:

Perhaps the chewing of the bean is not for the saliva. Rather,

the

heat [

warmth]

of the mouth is beneficial

to it and strengthens the cleansing power of the bean water.

The Gemara says:

The Mishna

is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda.

As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda says: Bean water must be

boiling,

and it must be used before

[beforehand, as follows]

one puts into it

the beans

salt,

because salt weakens the power of the bean water . The fact that Rabbi Yehuda requires the bean water to be boiling is not consistent with our Mishna, which is satisfied with the warmth of the mouth.

The Gemara explains the meaning of the word “used before” employed by Rabbi Yehuda:

From where is it inferred that this

“used before”

is an expression of preceding? Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: As the verse states: “And Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and he passed the Cushite,”

meaning that because Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, which was the shorter route, he preceded the Cushite and reached David before him.

Abaye said: From here: “And he passed before them,”

meaning that Jacob went ahead and proceeded toward Esau before his sons and wives.

And if you wish, say: From here: “And their king shall pass before them, and the Lord at their head.”

We learned in the Mishna:

Urine that has fermented,

that has become foul-smelling:

A tanna taught: How long must it ferment?

Three days.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the measurements given by the Sages concerning

the removal of

stains

by means of urine

require a measurement for their measurement;

there are different types of urine, which differ in their cleansing power, and four questions must be considered:

a. Does this also apply to urine

of a child,

or specifically to that

of an old man,

which is better for cleansing?

b. Is it specifically

that of a man,

or also

that of a woman?

Is it specifically urine that is

covered,

whose strength has been preserved,

or also

uncovered urine?

uncovered?

d. Is it specifically

during the summer,

when urine is better for cleansing,

or also

during

the rainy season?

We learned in the Mishna:

And one must rub it three times.

Rabbi Yirmeya raised a question:

Regarding this rubbing that the Sages mentioned, do

bringing

the cloth toward one side and

returning

it toward the other side count as

one rubbing?

For three rubbings, one would have to bring it three times and return it three times.

Or perhaps bringing it and returning it

count as

two?

In that case, bringing it and returning it, and then bringing it and returning it again, would constitute three rubbings .

What is the ruling?

The question remains without a resolution.

We learned in the Mishna:

If he passed them over the stain out of order,

he has done nothing.

The Sages taught: If he put first

the natron, soap, kimonia, and alum, which should have been used

second for

tasteless saliva, bean water, and urine, which should have been used

first.

One teaching states: The ingredients that he used

The substances that he applied

second,

the three ingredients listed first in the Mishna,

count for him, while the ingredients that he used

whereas the substances that he applied

first

do not count for him.

He must go back and use the last four ingredients after the first three ingredients that he has already used, so that he will use all seven ingredients in their proper order .

And another teaching states: The ones used first—

count for him; the ones used second—

do not count for him.

This appears to be a contradiction between the two beraitot!

The Gemara answers:

Abaye said: Both this and that,

the two tannaim of the two beraitot, maintain that only the ingredients

used second,

which should have been used first,

count for him.

And not

the ingredients he used

first,

because they appear second in the list of ingredients. This is as the first tanna explained: the ingredients he used second, which are first in the prescribed order, count for him.

And what does the second tanna mean by

“the ones used first,”

which he says count for him? He means the ingredients that are

first according to their proper order,

and in this case they were

used second

in their application.

That is, the only difference between the beraitot is the wording used by the tannaim. The tanna of the second beraita called “used first” the ingredients listed first in the Mishna, whereas the tanna of the first beraita called “used first” the ingredients that were applied first in this particular case.

Mishna:

Any woman who has an established menstrual cycle: “Her present time is sufficient.” This means that although we learned at the beginning of the tractate [2a] that when a woman sees blood, all ritually pure items that she touched during the preceding twenty-four hours are rendered impure retroactively, because of concern that the blood may already have emerged on the previous day, if she has a fixed cycle for seeing blood, she renders them impure only from the time she saw the blood onward, provided that this sight occurred specifically at the time of her cycle!

Although we learned at the beginning of the tractate (2a) that when a woman sees blood, all pure items that she touched during the preceding twenty-four hours are retroactively rendered impure, out of concern that the blood may already have emerged on the previous day, if she has a fixed cycle for her sightings, she renders impure only from the time of her sighting onward, provided that this sighting occurred specifically at the time of her cycle!

And these are the cycles:

The Mishna here is explaining cycles based on bodily sensations . If, when she sees blood, she regularly experiences one of the following sensations for a prolonged period

If, when she sees, she is accustomed to experience one of the following sensations for an extended period

If she yawns [

stretches].

And if she sneezes [

expels air through the throat or from below] .

She feels discomfort opposite her abdomen,

opposite the navel, and in the lower part of her intestines [at the end of the uterus, which is the genital area ].

If she experiences a flow [

this will be explained in the Gemara].

And if something like chills [

fever ]

seizes her

every time she sees blood.

And similarly in comparable cases,

when she experiences other sensations that women commonly feel when blood emerges.

And any sensation that she established for herself,

meaning that she saw

three times

blood with that same sensation—

is a cycle.

If she sees blood at a time when she feels the sensation that she regularly experiences, her present time is sufficient, and she does not retroactively render impure the ritually pure items that she touched .

Gemara:

The Gemara asks: This has already

been taught once before [

above, 2a]:

Any woman who has an established cycle—her present time is sufficient!?

It answers:

There, it is referring to cycles based on days,

when she has a fixed day for seeing blood;

here, it is referring to cycles based on the body,

when she experiences a fixed sensation, but on different days .

As it teaches

in the Mishna, which itself explains that it is speaking only of bodily cycles:

These are the cycles: If she yawns, sneezes, feels discomfort opposite her abdomen and in the lower part of her intestines, or experiences a flow.

We learned in the Mishna, “And she flows”:

And the Gemara asks:

“Flowing”—

what is her cycle?

Is she indeed flowing and going

constantly [with] menstrual blood, and where is the cycle, since all her days she sees?!