Gemara Clarity

Niddah 53b

נדה נ״ג ע״ב

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Topic

Twilight views, the laws of כתמים (stains), and the משנה on blood seen at בין השמשות on borderline days

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an answer: two ברייתות disagree about whether the בין השמשות of רבי יוסי comes after the בין השמשות of רבי יהודה or falls inside its end. Next comes a ברייתא about a כתם. רבי says it makes the woman and קדשים impure retroactively. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר holds that a stain should never be stricter than actually seeing blood, and the גמרא rewords his view so that this holds even for קדשים. A second ברייתא asks when a stain can be connected to a later sighting of blood: within 24 hours according to רבי, or only on the same day according to רבי שמעון בן אלעזר. רבי's comment that the other view 'fixes' her situation is explained two ways. רבינא reverses it, and רב נחמן says it refers to the laws of זיבה. Then רבי זירא learns from רבי אסי that כתמים need a הפסק טהרה. Finally, a new משנה discusses a woman who sees blood at בין השמשות on borderline days. רב חסדא explains its labels, and the גמרא begins asking about רבי יהושע's comment on the 'misguided' women, a question that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וַהֲדַר חָיֵיל בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי,

and afterward the twilight of Rabbi Yosei begins,

וְהַאי תַּנָּא סָבַר,

but this tanna holds,

בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי

the twilight of Rabbi Yosei

מֵישָׁךְ שָׁיֵיךְ בִּדְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה.

stretches into and belongs within that of Rabbi Yehuda.

The steps (25)

  1. ResolutionTwo views on how the two twilights fit together
  2. Statementרבי: a stain makes her and קדשים impure retroactively
  3. Statementרבי שמעון בן אלעזר: only קדשים, not herself
  4. ChallengeBut for קדשים the stain is stricter than seeing
  5. ResolutionRewording רבי שמעון בן אלעזר: a stain is never stricter than seeing
  6. Statementרבי: a stain followed by blood within 24 hours is joined to the sighting
  7. Statementרבי שמעון בן אלעזר: only if the blood comes that same day
  8. Statementרבי praises the other view for 'fixing' her situation
  9. ChallengeBut רבי שמעון בן אלעזר is actually the stricter one
  10. Resolutionרבינא: reverse the praise
  11. Resolutionרב נחמן keeps רבי's original wording
  12. QuestionDo stains require a הפסק טהרה?
  13. Statementרבי אסי is later found teaching רבי's rule
  14. Statementריש לקיש and רבי יוחנן argue about whether she must have checked
  15. Questionרבי זירא infers that stains need a הפסק טהרה
  16. Responseרבי אסי confirms: yes
  17. QuestionWhy didn't you answer me all those other times?
  18. Responseרבי אסי admits it came to him while learning
  19. StatementNew משנה: seeing blood at twilight on the eleventh day
  20. StatementTwilight after childbirth, and the women are called טועות
  21. StatementHelp the clever women, not only the confused ones
  22. ChallengeThe משנה's wording does not fit the case
  23. Resolutionרב חסדא rereads the eleventh-day case
  24. ResolutionThe seventh day of נדה: end of נדה or beginning of זיבה
  25. ChallengeQuoting רבי יהושע and starting to question the word 'misguided'