The Eddie B Sit Edition, an audio series of the Talmud Bavli, specifically Masechet Niddah, has been dedicated by Ron Yaish in honor of his children, Ovadia Abraham ben Rachel Shifra and Levi Yitzchak ben Rachel Shifra, as well as in honor of his Eshet Chayil, Rachel Shifra bat Tova Yocheved. May Ron Yaish and his wife continue, b'ezrat Hashem, to have more children and derive much nachat from their current children, both spiritually and materially. Amen.
We begin today’s Masechet on Daf Bet, starting from the Mishnah. Today’s Daf is being studied l'ilui nishmat Avraham ben Esther and Yosef ben Sabut. May the spirit of Hashem rest upon them in Gan Eden. Amen.
To provide a brief introduction, we will review what a niddah is, although this is well-known. A niddah is a woman who sees blood that comes from the makor, which is the uterus. As a result of this bleeding, not only is the niddah forbidden to her husband, but she also becomes an av hatumah. An av hatumah can render people, vessels, and food tamei. A woman becomes tamei the moment the blood emerges from the rechem, even if it has not yet exited her body; she is already considered tamei from before.
Our Mishnah discusses a case where a woman sees blood but has a safek—perhaps the blood was there from before. Therefore, we need to determine whether the items she touched in the interim are tamei or not. From when do the items she touched become tamei? One might argue that it is from the moment she sees the blood, assuming she was tehorah before that point. Alternatively, one might consider the possibility that everything she touched during a certain timeframe is tamei.
Shammai's opinion is as follows: “Shammai says, all women are judged from the moment they see.” This means that once they see blood, they are tamei, and we do not retroactively declare the items they touched before the blood was seen to be tamei. Shammai concludes that if she saw blood, it is sufficient for us; if she becomes tamei, it will only apply to items she touches from that moment onward.
Shammai does not entertain the notion that the blood might have existed previously in the walls of the uterus without being expelled. The Mishnah states that we have a principle that even when blood is present in the outer chamber, it can still render someone tamei. However, Shammai maintains a lenient approach here, asserting that tumah only begins once the woman sees the blood.
In contrast, Hillel states that there will be a retroactive tumah in this case. He refers to a phenomenon known as mipkida l'pekida, which means "from one check to the next." To clarify, the term pekidah refers to a checking. A woman can check herself by using a white cloth to determine if there is any blood present. Hillel argues that if she checked herself on Monday and then sees blood on Wednesday or Thursday, everything she touched from the last check until the moment she saw blood is retroactively rendered tamei. This is because we know she was tehorah at the time of her last check, and thus, we must consider the time between the two checks for any potential tumah.
Rashi provides an example: if she checked herself on Sunday and found herself tehorah, but then checked again on Wednesday and found blood, we are concerned about all the taharot she dealt with from Sunday to Wednesday. This is due to the possibility that blood was present but not visible because it was held within the walls of the uterus. Hillel's position is stricter and allows for retroactive tumah based on the timeline of her checks.
However, the Rabbis present a compromise position. They state that one is not as lenient as Shammai, who claims there is no retroactive tumah, nor as strict as Hillel, who applies tumah from one check to the next. Instead, they assert that she will be tamei retroactively to a certain degree, either from the last check or at most for one full day. The Mishnah indicates that the term me'et le'et refers to a twenty-four-hour period.
For example, if the last check was more than twenty-four hours ago, and she checked on Sunday and again on Wednesday, she will only be considered tamei retroactively for the last twenty-four hours. If she checked in the morning and again in the evening, and the morning check was fine while the evening check was not, she only needs to consider the morning check, not going back twenty-four hours.
The Rabbis clarify that the checking can minimize the time frame for tumah. If a check was performed within twenty-four hours, the checking can even reduce the time further. The logic is that if she checked herself in the morning and was found tehorah, we do not need to worry about the taharot she dealt with before that check.
Now, we return to the Mishnah, which states: “Any woman who has a set cycle is judged from the moment she sees.” A set cycle means that she sees her dam niddah at three consecutive intervals or times that are the same. For instance, if she sees blood on the 10th of the month for three consecutive months, she is considered a veset kavua. The Mishnah states that once she has established this cycle, we do not need to worry about blood that may have come out before her designated time.
Rashi explains that if a woman checks at the time of her cycle and finds herself tamei, we only consider her tumah going forward, not retroactively. This is because her cycle is established, and we assume that the blood arrived at its designated time.
Next, we discuss the cloths used for checking, referred to as edim in the Mishnah. The term ed, meaning "witness," is appropriate as these cloths serve as witnesses to determine whether the woman is tamei or not. If she checks with the cloth and it comes out clean, it indicates she is fine; if it is stained, it indicates she is tamei.
The Mishnah states that any woman who has relations must perform a check before and after to ensure there is no blood. The act of checking is considered a valid pekidah, which minimizes the time frame for tumah. If a woman engages in relations and checks afterward, and then sees blood, she will only need to consider the last check for determining tumah.
Now, the Gemara will explain the Mishnah further. Shammai states that once a woman sees blood, she is judged from that moment onward. If she was sitting on her bed dealing with taharot and then sees blood after getting up, she is tamei, but the items she touched while she was still dealing with taharot remain tehorah. This is consistent with Shammai’s ruling that there is no retroactive tumah—she is tamei, but what she touched before seeing the blood is still tehorah.
However, the Rabbis assert that even though we say she is tamei retroactively for a maximum of twenty-four hours, she does not start counting the seven days of niddah until she actually sees blood. For tumah, we consider her status a day back, but for counting, she only begins from the moment she sees.
The Gemara now asks about Shammai's reasoning. Why does Shammai assert that a woman is only tamei going forward? The answer lies in the concept of chazakah, which assumes a woman is tehorah until proven otherwise. Shammai maintains that we should assume she was good until her status changes.
In contrast, Hillel's logic acknowledges that a woman's status can change. Since a woman’s cycle is not permanent, we cannot assume she will remain tehorah indefinitely. Hillel argues that we cannot apply chazakah in this case because a woman’s body is subject to change, and thus her status is not stable.
The Gemara will continue to explore these principles further, particularly in light of the cases of mikvah and tevel, which present similar questions regarding retroactive tumah. The discussion will reveal deeper insights into the nature of tumah and the principles guiding these halachic rulings.