1A woman left home for an extended period of time while she was full, i.e., pregnant, and came back when she was empty, as she discharged the fetus, but it is unknown exactly when and what she discharged; and she spent three weeks in our presence during which she was pure, i.e., she did not experience any bleeding, and for the following ten weeks she alternated between one impure week, in which she experienced bleeding every day, and one pure week, in which she did not experience bleeding at all.
2In such a case, the woman may engage in intercourse with her husband at the end of the fifth week following her return, on the eve of the thirty-fifth day, after which she is again prohibited from engaging in intercourse with her husband. And we require her to immerse in a ritual bath a total of ninety-five immersions. This is the statement of Beit Shammai. And Beit Hillel say that she is required to immerse thirty-five times. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: She is required to immerse only once, as it is sufficient for the immersion to be at the end of the period when she is required to immerse every day. The entire baraita will be explained below.
3The Gemara explains the objection from the baraita to the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Granted in the first week following her arrival the woman may not engage in intercourse with her husband, despite the fact that she did not experience bleeding during that week, as one can say that perhaps she is a woman who gave birth to a male just before her arrival, which would mean that the first week is her seven-day period of impurity. Likewise, it is clear that the woman may not engage in intercourse with her husband during the second week after her arrival, as one can say that she is a woman who gave birth to a female, and consequently her period of impurity is two weeks long.
4It is also clear why she may not engage in intercourse during the third week, as one can say that perhaps she is a woman who gave birth to a female as a zava , i.e., a woman who experienced a discharge of uterine blood after her menstrual period for three days without the pain of labor, and therefore assumed the status of a zava before giving birth. If so, she must count seven clean days after her two-week period of impurity, and subsequently immerse.
5But in the fourth week, even though the woman sees blood during that period, let her engage in intercourse with her husband, as it is pure blood. At this stage the woman’s period of purity is certainly underway. Why does the baraita state that she may not engage in intercourse with her husband in this week? Is it not due to the concern that she might have discharged an item that was not a full-fledged offspring? Evidently, although most pregnant women give birth to full-fledged offspring, we do not follow the majority, which contradicts the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.
6The Gemara asks: Rather, as this is apparently a valid objection, what is the reason that Ravin said: I do not know what the objection to the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi is? The Gemara explains: Perhaps it is in fact assumed that the woman gave birth to a full-fledged offspring, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and the reason she is not considered pure in the fourth week after her arrival is that one can say that her birth was distant, i.e., she gave birth a long time before her arrival, and therefore her period of purity had already ended before the fourth week.
7§ The Gemara further analyzes the above baraita : During this fifth week, when the woman is pure, as she did not experience any bleeding, let her engage in intercourse with her husband. Why is she permitted to do so only on the eve of the thirty-fifth day, at the end of the fifth week?
8The Gemara answers: During this fourth week, when she experiences bleeding every day, we are uncertain with regard to each and every day as to whether it is the end of the woman’s period of purity as a woman after childbirth, and that it is therefore the beginning of the seven-day period that she must observe as a menstruating woman. And with regard to the twenty-eighth day itself, the last day of the fourth week, one can also say that it is after the last day of her period of purity and the beginning of her period as a menstruating woman, and therefore she is required to observe seven days for her menstruation, which end on the thirty-fourth day after her arrival. Consequently, the woman may engage in intercourse with her husband only on the eve of the thirty-fifth day.
9The Gemara further inquires: As explained above, the reason it is prohibited for the woman to engage in intercourse during the third week is that she might have given birth just before arriving and had been a zava at the time, and therefore after observing the two weeks of impurity of a woman after childbirth, she must observe an additional seven days of impurity as a zava . A zava may undergo her purification process on the seventh day of her impurity, following which she is permitted to engage in intercourse. Accordingly, let the woman engage in intercourse on the twenty-first day after her arrival.
10The Gemara answers: The halakha in this baraita is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, who said that it is prohibited for a woman to do so, i.e., to engage in intercourse on the seventh day of her ziva after immersing in a ritual bath, lest she come to a case of uncertainty. If she engages in intercourse on that seventh day after immersion, and subsequently experiences bleeding on that same day, it retroactively nullifies her entire seven clean days, and it turns out that she engaged in intercourse while she was impure. The Gemara continues to ask: Even so, let her engage in intercourse that night, after having completed seven clean days. The Gemara answers: The baraita is referring to a case when the woman saw blood in the evening, i.e., her fourth week of experiencing bleeding started in the nighttime.
11§ The Gemara analyzes the statement of Beit Shammai: And we require the woman to immerse in a ritual bath for a total of ninety-five immersions. The Gemara explains: During the first week she is required to immerse at night, every night of the week. The reason is that as the date of her childbirth and the sex of the offspring are unknown, one can say that she is a woman who gave birth to a male. If so, the seven days of impurity might have ended on any night of the first week, and therefore she must immerse in a ritual bath on each night.
12During the second week, she is required to immerse at night, every night, as one can say that she is a woman who gave birth to a female, and therefore it is possible that her fourteen-day period of impurity ended on any of the nights of the second week. She must also immerse every day of the second week in the daytime, as one can say that she is a woman who gave birth to a male as a zava . If so, it is possible that her seven-day period of impurity as a woman after childbirth ended on any given day during the first week, after which she must start to count seven clean days as a zava . These seven days necessarily culminate during the second week, and the halakha is that a woman must immerse in a ritual bath on the morning when her seven clean days of ziva conclude.
13During the third week, she is required to immerse every day in the daytime, as one can say that she is a woman who gave birth to a female as a zava , and consequently her fourteen-day period of impurity as a woman after childbirth ended during the second week. Therefore, the woman’s seven clean days as a zava might end on any day of the third week, and she is obligated to immerse on that morning.
14She is also required to immerse on every night of the third week, according to Beit Shammai. Beit Shammai conform to their line of reasoning, as they say in a mishna (71b) that a woman who finished her period of purity after childbirth, referred to as a woman who immersed that long day and is waiting for her purification process to be completed, requires immersion at the end of this period. The woman must therefore immerse on every night of the third week, in case that night is the end of her period of purity, for a total of thirty-five immersions by the end of the week. She must continue to immerse every night until her period of purity is certainly over, no matter when she gave birth, i.e., until the eightieth day since her arrival.