The MDBSIT edition, an audio series of the Talmud Bavli, Masechet Niddah, has been dedicated by Ron Yaish in honor of his children, Ovadia Avraham ben Reizel Shifra and Levi Yitzchak ben Reizel Shifra, as well as in honor of his Eshet Chayil, Reizel Shifra bat Tova Yocheved. I would like to bless Ron Yaish and his wife so that they should continue B'ezrat Hashem to have more children and that they should see much Nachat from their current children, both spiritually and materially, Amen v'amen.
We are on Daf Nun Bet Amud Bet, starting at the Mishnah, four lines before the wide lines, discussing Haro'ah Ketem. A woman who sees a ketem, which is a stain, does not feel it come out of her body; she simply notices it on her garment. This ketem is not a flow of blood like that of a niddah. The ketamim are not considered teme'im d'oraita; rather, the entire issue of ketamim is a tamei m'drabbanan under certain circumstances. The ruling states, harei zo mekulkeket, meaning she is considered mekulkeket.
What does it mean to be mekulkeket? It means she does not know when her niddah status began, specifically the eleven days that separate one niddah from another. She is unaware of when the ketem appeared, leading to uncertainty about her cycle. Is she in the niddah cycle or the zavah cycle? The law is that she is mekulkeket because she cannot determine when the ketem appeared. Consequently, she does not know her cycle anymore.
Now, what is the ruling in this case? Since she did not feel the blood come out, she does not know when it came out or when her seven days of niddah began. Therefore, she cannot determine when the zavah days start and end. She looks between her legs and sees no blood. The next ruling is that we are concerned for zov, according to the words of Rabbi Meir, while the sages say that ketamim do not cause zov. This distinction is crucial in the Mishnah.
Rabbi Meir suggests that if three days of zivah have passed and she wore a garment for three days, and then she finds a significant ketem on it—one that is three gerisin or more—there is a concern that she may have seen blood from three separate days. Each ketem must be at least one gris plus a little more. We suspect that perhaps on different days she saw a gris of blood, which would classify her as a zavah gedolah, necessitating seven clean days and a korban.
However, the sages argue that ketamim do not make her a zavah gedolah because they question whether the stains came from three separate days. The Gemara inquires about the sages who do not suspect that the large stain indicates she is a zavah gedolah. The answer is attributed to Chanina ben Antigonus, who states that ketamim do not cause zov, although sometimes ketamim can lead to zivah.
For instance, if she wore three garments on three different days of zivah and found a ketem on each garment, even Chanina ben Antigonus would say that there is a need for concern regarding zivah. The Gemara questions this statement, noting that if three garments show no flow of blood, why should we suspect zivah? The response highlights that if she saw blood from her body, the situation changes. The Gemara concludes that if she did not see blood on the garments, there is no concern.
Moving forward, the Gemara addresses the case of a woman who sees a ketem on a garment worn for three days. If the ketem has a volume of three plus gerisin, she must be concerned for zivah. If it does not, she is not concerned. Rabbi Yehuda ben Agra states that even if she sees two gerisin, she must be concerned due to the possibility that she saw them during bein hashemashot, which is considered a time of uncertainty.
The Gemara continues to explore the implications of seeing during bein hashemashot, as it is treated as if she saw blood on both days. The discussion leads to a deeper analysis of how different sages interpret the timeframes and their implications for zivah and niddah statuses.
Ultimately, this exploration reveals the complexities of halachic rulings regarding ketamim and their implications for a woman's status in terms of niddah and zivah. The careful distinctions drawn in the Mishnah and subsequent Gemara discussions underscore the significance of awareness and understanding in navigating these halachic matters.