Gemara Clarity

Niddah 22a

נדה כ״ב ע״א

Learn Niddah 22a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Niddah 22a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Blood in a piece of tissue, קרי drawn out with a splinter and a זב's count, and whether dry blood makes a woman a נדה

Overview

The גמרא finishes explaining the argument about blood found inside a piece of tissue (חתיכה). The first explanation says the argument is about whether women normally see blood this way. רבא disagrees: everyone agrees women do not, and the real argument is whether the blood can be impure because it passed through the מקור even though the woman stays pure. Next, רבה asks רב הונא whether a man is impure from קרי drawn out with a splinter. רב הונא answers that קרי only makes impure in an amount that blocks the opening. A long back-and-forth follows about why a זב's קרי breaks his seven clean days, and why it breaks only one day. Finally, רבי יוסי בר' חנינא asks רבי אלעזר whether blood that comes out dry makes a woman a נדה. רבי אלעזר starts a proof from our משנה about a woman who discharges odd red items, and the proof continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

כִּי פְּלִיגִי בַּחֲתִיכָה.

When they disagree, it is about a piece of tissue.

מָר סָבַר: דַּרְכָּהּ שֶׁל אִשָּׁה

One Sage holds: it is the normal way of a woman

לִרְאוֹת דָּם בַּחֲתִיכָה,

to see blood in a piece of tissue,

וּמַר סָבַר: אֵין דַּרְכָּהּ שֶׁל אִשָּׁה

and the other Sage holds: it is not the normal way of a woman

The steps (13)

  1. StatementThe argument is about blood inside a piece of tissue
  2. Statementרבא: everyone agrees women do not normally see blood in tissue
  3. StatementThe real argument: can the woman be pure while the blood is impure?
  4. Questionרבה asks: is קרי drawn out with a splinter impure?
  5. Responseרב הונא: קרי only makes impure when there is enough to block the opening
  6. ChallengeIf impurity comes from touching, why does קרי break a זב's count?
  7. Resolutionקרי breaks the count only because it always contains bits of זיבה
  8. ChallengeIf the problem is mixed-in זיבה, it should break all seven days
  9. ResolutionA Torah decree: pure זיבה breaks seven, mixed bits break one
  10. QuestionDoes dry blood make a woman impure?
  11. ResponseFirst answer: נדה blood is impure wet or dry
  12. RejectionThe question is about blood that was dry from the start
  13. ProofSecond proof: the woman who discharges odd red items