Niddah 48b

נדה מ״ח ע״ב

Learn Niddah 48b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Niddah 48b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The lower sign alone makes a girl an adult, and who may check for the signs

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of a homiletic reading about stages of breast development. The גמרא then asks where we learn that the lower sign (two hairs) alone makes a girl an adult. It answers from במדבר ה:ו, which treats a woman like a man for punishments: a man becomes an adult with one sign, the lower one, so a woman does too. A ברייתא from יבנה supports this. Several ברייתות follow about which sign or side tends to develop first, depending on a girl's way of life. Next, a ברייתא rules that women do the checking for signs. רבי יהודה and רבי שמעון disagree about whether women may check during the age window from eleven to twelve. The ברייתא adds that a woman is believed only to be stringent, shown through cases of מיאון and חליצה. The גמרא explains each opinion, using רבא's presumption that a girl of twelve has grown signs. It ends by asking whose view the stringency rule follows, answering that it may be רבי יהודה.

Opening lines

The steps (25)

1. StatementClosing line of a homiletic reading about breast development
2. QuestionWhere do we learn that the lower sign alone is enough
3. ResponseA woman is compared to a man, so one sign is enough
4. ChallengeMaybe a woman's one sign could be either lower or upper
5. ResolutionLike a man: only the lower sign counts
6. ProofSupport from יבנה: once the lower sign appears, the upper sign is ignored
7. StatementCity girls and village girls develop different signs first
8. StatementRich girls and poor girls develop different sides first
9. StatementThe left side comes before the right
10. StatementFrom experience: the left side almost never comes first
11. StatementWomen do the checking for signs
12. ProofGreat רבנים followed this in practice
13. StatementWomen may check before and after the age window, but not during it
14. StatementWomen may check even during the window, but only to be stringent
15. StatementExamples of a woman being believed to be stringent
16. StatementA woman is not believed to allow מיאון or חליצה
17. ChallengeWhy checking before the window makes sense
18. ChallengeWhy check after the age window at all?
19. Resolutionרבא's presumption works for refusal, not for חליצה
20. Statementרבי יהודה: the window counts like adulthood
21. ResolutionWhy women are trusted after the window but not during it
22. Statementרבי שמעון: the window counts like childhood
23. StatementA woman is believed only to be stringent
24. QuestionWhose opinion is this?
25. ResponseIt is רבי יהודה, talking about the age window