Niddah 69b

נדה ס״ט ע״ב

Learn Niddah 69b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How the ברייתא counts the fifteen טבילות of a woman who comes to בית דין: seven for נדה and eight for זיבה, and why it ignores the case where נדה would need eight.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא about a woman who comes before בית דין and must immerse fifteen times. The גמרא explains that the ברייתא means seven for נדה and eight for זיבה. It counts the full eight only for זיבה, because that number is fixed, while נדה needs eight only at night. The גמרא then uses the ברייתא to prove that the רבנן do not require ספורין לפנינו. רב אחא בריה דרב יוסף rejects the proof by rereading the case as a woman who does not know whether she counted at all. A new משנה teaches that a dead זב, זבה, נדה, יולדת or מצורע still makes impure במשא, while a dead נכרי does not. The גמרא explains that במשא means the special impurity through an אבן מסמא. It is a גזירה in case a person who only fainted is mistaken for dead, and it lasts until the belly bursts. A dead נכרי is pure because even his impurity while alive is only מדברי סופרים. Finally, a ברייתא lists twelve questions the people of Alexandria asked רבי יהושע בן חיננא, and his answer about the בת משולחת continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (26)

1. ResponseSplitting the fifteen immersions: day versus night
2. ChallengeChallenge: זיבה always needs eight
3. ResolutionRevised answer: seven for נדה and eight for זיבה in both cases
4. ChallengeChallenge: at night נדה needs eight
5. ResolutionThe ברייתא counts only fixed numbers
6. ProofSo many immersions prove the ברייתא follows the רבנן
7. RejectionReread the ברייתא as a woman unsure about her past count
8. ChallengeShe surely counted at least one day, so fifteen is too many
9. ResolutionShe does not know whether she counted at all
10. StatementDead people with special impurity still make impure by carrying
11. StatementIs every woman who dies treated as a נדה?
12. QuestionWhat does 'by carrying' mean?
13. ResponseIt means impurity through a very heavy stone
14. ProofA verse shows where the word מסמא comes from
15. QuestionWhy do these dead people make impure through a heavy stone?
16. ResponseIt is a decree, because he may only have fainted
17. StatementThe rule lasts only until the belly bursts
18. QuestionWhy is a dead נכרי pure?
19. ResponseHis impurity even while alive is only rabbinic
20. StatementTwelve questions from Alexandria
21. QuestionHow long do the dead make impure through carrying?
22. ResponseUntil the flesh decays
23. QuestionCan a בת משולחת marry a כהן?
24. ProofA קל וחומר from a widow married to a כהן גדול
25. RejectionThe widow is stricter in another way
26. Responseרבי יהושע begins his reply