Niddah 17a

נדה י״ז ע״א

Learn Niddah 17a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Niddah 17a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Modesty in intimacy, five dangerous actions, the ban on daytime intimacy, checking cloths, and the טומאה of snow

Overview

This amud finishes רבי שמעון בן יוחי's list of behaviors הקב״ה hates with two items about modesty in the bedroom. שמואל explains that 'any living being' means people such as slaves, not mice, and the גמרא tells how great אמוראים guarded their privacy. רבי שמעון בן יוחי then lists five dangerous actions, and the גמרא explains each one: peeled foods and diluted drinks left overnight, sleeping in a cemetery, throwing cut nails in public, and intimacy right after bloodletting. Next, רב חסדא and רב הונא forbid intimacy by day, and רבא allows it in the dark. The גמרא defends this ban against three sources by reading each one as talking about examining (בדיקה), not intimacy. That leads to a discussion of which cloths may be used for checking: linen, soft wool, and certain kinds of flax. Finally, the גמרא explains how snow works for טומאה, and אביי shows how a whole lump of snow can become טמא through the airspace of an earthenware oven.

Opening lines

The steps (43)

1. StatementThe last two items on the list of hated behaviors
2. QuestionDoes this include even mice?
3. ResponseNo, it means people such as slaves
4. QuestionWhat were they relying on?
5. ResponseA people compared to a donkey
6. StatementHow the אמוראים guarded their privacy
7. StatementFive dangerous actions
8. StatementPeeled garlic is dangerous even when sealed in a basket
9. StatementNo danger if roots or peel were left on
10. StatementDiluted drinks are only dangerous in metal vessels
11. Statementנתר vessels count like metal vessels
12. Statementרבי יוחנן says the same thing
13. StatementSleeping in a cemetery on purpose
14. StatementWhy throwing cut nails in public is dangerous
15. StatementThree suggested limits on the nail rule
16. RejectionWe worry about cut nails in every case
17. StatementThree ways to get rid of cut nails
18. StatementWhy intimacy after bloodletting is dangerous
19. StatementEating something removes the danger
20. StatementNo intimacy during the day
21. QuestionHow does the verse teach this?
22. ResponseHe might see something that turns him off
23. StatementA reason from holiness
24. StatementWhen daytime intimacy is allowed
25. ChallengeOur משנה seems to allow intimacy by lamplight
26. ResolutionRead the משנה as 'she should examine by lamplight'
27. ChallengeA ברייתא seems to show the משנה really means intimacy
28. ResolutionRead it as examining by lamplight being disgraceful
29. ChallengeThe household of King מונבז was intimate by day
30. ResolutionRead it as examining by day
31. ProofIt makes sense: would intimacy be praised?
32. RejectionDaytime intimacy can also be praiseworthy
33. ProofChecking with fine wool supports שמואל
34. Statementרב finally understands a saying he heard
35. Statementרבא: worn-out flax is good for checking
36. ChallengeA ברייתא forbids checking with flax
37. ResolutionRaw flax versus flax garments
38. ResolutionSecond answer: new versus worn flax garments
39. StatementThird praise: keeping purity laws with snow
40. StatementA משנה on whether snow is food or drink
41. StatementPart of the snow impure, part of the snow pure
42. ChallengeThe two rules seem to contradict each other
43. Resolutionאביי: the snow passed through the airspace of an oven