Niddah 59b

נדה נ״ט ע״ב

Learn Niddah 59b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Blood found in urine, and blood stains on a lent or shared garment or bench

Overview

The משנה starts with a woman who sees blood while urinating. רבי מאיר says she is טמאה if she was standing and טהורה if she was sitting, while רבי יוסי says she is טהורה either way. When a man and a woman urinated into the same basin, רבי יוסי rules her טהורה, and רבי שמעון rules her טמאה, because blood is presumed to come from the woman. The גמרא explains רבי מאיר's split between standing and sitting with the cases of a strong stream and of sitting on the edge of the basin. It then rules that the הלכה follows רבי יוסי. ריש לקיש and רבי יוחנן argue about whether רבי מאיר is strict even with a ספק ספקא, and a ברייתא supports רבי יוחנן that he is not. Two more questions show that רבי שמעון is strict in every case, sitting or standing, even with a man present. A new משנה then teaches about blood stains on a garment lent to a נכרית or a נדה, or shared by three women, and רבי נחמיה's rule that items which cannot become impure do not carry stains. The גמרא begins with רב explaining the case of the נכרית, and his statement continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (28)

1. StatementBlood seen while urinating: standing versus sitting
2. StatementBlood found in a basin used by a man and a woman
3. ChallengeWhy should sitting be different from standing?
4. Resolutionשמואל: the case is a strong stream
5. ChallengeEven with a strong stream, blood may come afterward
6. ResolutionBlood inside the basin came with the stream, not after it
7. ConclusionThe הלכה follows רבי יוסי
8. QuestionWhat would רבי מאיר say if the man and woman were both standing?
9. QuestionSingle doubt or double doubt?
10. Responseריש לקיש: No difference for רבי מאיר
11. ChallengeWhy teach the single-doubt case at all?
12. ResolutionTo show how far רבי יוסי goes
13. ChallengeWhy not show רבי מאיר's strength instead?
14. ResolutionShowing the strength of a lenient view is preferred
15. Responseרבי יוחנן: רבי מאיר is strict only with one doubt
16. ChallengeThen the משנה should name רבי מאיר too
17. ResolutionThe משנה just continued with רבי יוסי
18. ChallengeWhy teach רבי יוסי's leniency in the double doubt?
19. ResolutionEven from the start, not only after the fact
20. ProofA ברייתא supports רבי יוחנן
21. QuestionDoes רבי שמעון rule a sitting woman impure?
22. Responseרבי שמעון rules her impure either way
23. QuestionDoes רבי שמעון stay strict when a man and a woman were both sitting?
24. Responseרבי שמעון's own words show no difference between standing and sitting
25. StatementNew משנה: a woman who lent her garment may blame the borrower
26. StatementThree women share one garment or bench: all are impure
27. StatementNo stain impurity on a stone bench or bathhouse bench
28. Statementרב begins explaining the case of the gentile woman