Commentary page

Niddah 49a

This page gathers the commentary on one source unit: the classic commentaries as they are printed, the sources the text cites, the sages named in it and direct links back to the text.

Read the full text in the reader

Babylonian Talmud · folio map

Niddah 49a

Niddah 49a. The full printed text of this folio side — 10 numbered segments, about 182 words — with the classic commentaries printed on the page.

Original text

Segment 1

וְאִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא: רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, וּלְאַחַר הַפֶּרֶק, וְלֵית לֵיהּ חֲזָקָה דְּרָבָא.

And if you wish, say instead that the tanna who taught this ruling was Rabbi Shimon, and the baraita is referring to an examination conducted after the age of majority. And Rabbi Shimon does not accept the presumption of Rava that a girl of this age has already developed signs indicating puberty.

Segment 2

מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמְרוּ אֶפְשָׁר כּוּ׳. הָא תּוּ לְמָה לִי? הָא תָּנָא לֵיהּ רֵישָׁא!

§ The mishna teaches that according to the Rabbis a young woman who apparently developed the upper sign before the lower sign has reached majority, and therefore if her childless husband died she either performs ḥalitza or enters into levirate marriage with her husband’s brother. This ruling is due to the fact that the Sages said: It is possible for the lower sign of puberty to appear before the upper sign, but it is impossible for the upper sign to appear before the lower sign. The Gemara asks: Why do I need this additional repetition of this point? It was already taught in the first clause that it is impossible for the upper sign to appear without the lower sign having already appeared.

Segment 3

וְכִי תֵּימָא, מִשּׁוּם דְּקָא בָעֵי לְמִסְתְּמַהּ כְּרַבָּנַן — פְּשִׁיטָא! יָחִיד וְרַבִּים — הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּים.

And if you would say that it is repeated because the tanna wants to teach an unattributed mishna in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, in order to establish that the halakha follows their opinion in their dispute with Rabbi Meir, that cannot be the case. The Gemara explains why this suggestion is incorrect: This is obvious, as there is a principle that in a dispute between an individual Sage and a majority of other Sages, the halakha is always decided in accordance with the opinion of the majority.

Segment 4

מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא: מִסְתַּבְּרָא טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר, דְּקָא מְסַיַּיע לֵיהּ קְרָאֵי, קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן. וְאִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא: מִשּׁוּם דְּקָא בָּעֵי לְמִתְנֵי ״כַּיּוֹצֵא בוֹ״.

The Gemara answers: It is necessary for the tanna to state that the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis despite the fact that they are the majority, lest you say that the rationale for the opinion of Rabbi Meir is more reasonable. One might have thought this, as the verses cited above support it: “Your breasts were fashioned, and your hair was grown,” and: “When they from Egypt bruised your breasts for the sprouting forth of your young womanhood.” Therefore, the mishna teaches us that the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis. And if you wish, say instead that the tanna repeated the claim that the upper sign cannot precede the lower one because he wants to teach a case in the next mishna which is similar to this one, i.e., this summary provides a transition to the halakha brought in the following mishna.

Segment 5

מַתְנִי' כַּיּוֹצֵא בוֹ, כׇּל כְּלִי חֶרֶס שֶׁהוּא מַכְנִיס — מוֹצִיא, וְיֵשׁ שֶׁמּוֹצִיא וְאֵינוֹ מַכְנִיס.

MISHNA: Similar to the order of the appearance of the signs of puberty in a girl, where it is impossible for the upper sign to appear before the lower sign, there is an analogous principle with regard to the mutual dependency of two items: Any earthenware vessel with a hole that enables entry of liquid into the vessel certainly enables exit of liquid through that hole, and it thereby ceases to be a vessel fit for sanctification of the waters mixed with the ashes of the red heifer. And there are holes that enable exit of liquids from the earthenware vessels but do not enable entry of liquids from outside the vessel, and therefore it remains a vessel.

Segment 6

כׇּל אֵבֶר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ צִפּוֹרֶן — יֵשׁ בּוֹ עֶצֶם, וְיֵשׁ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ עֶצֶם וְאֵין בּוֹ צִפּוֹרֶן.

Likewise, in any limb of the body where there is a nail, there is certainly a bone in it as well. If it is the limb of a corpse, it transmits ritual impurity through contact, movement, and in a tent, even if its size is less than that of an olive-bulk. And there are limbs in which there is a bone but yet there is not a nail in it. That limb does not transmit impurity in a tent if its size is less than that of an olive-bulk.

Segment 7

כׇּל הַמִּטַּמֵּא מִדְרָס — מִטַּמֵּא טְמֵא מֵת, וְיֵשׁ שֶׁמִּטַּמֵּא טְמֵא מֵת — וְאֵינוֹ מִטַּמֵּא מִדְרָס.

Similarly, any item that becomes ritually impure with impurity of a zav imparted by treading, e.g., a vessel designated for sitting, becomes ritually impure with impurity imparted by a corpse. And there are vessels that become ritually impure with impurity imparted by a corpse but do not become ritually impure with impurity of a zav imparted by treading.

Segment 8

גְּמָ' מַכְנִיס — פָּסוּל לְמֵי חַטָּאת, וּפָסוּל מִשּׁוּם גִּסְטְרָא. מוֹצִיא — כָּשֵׁר לְמֵי חַטָּאת, וּפָסוּל מִשּׁוּם גִּסְטְרָא.

GEMARA: The mishna teaches that any earthenware vessel with a hole that enables entry of liquid into the vessel certainly enables exit of liquid through that hole, whereas there are holes that enable exit of liquids but do not enable entry. The Gemara explains the halakhic significance of this distinction. A vessel that contains a hole that is large enough to enable liquid to enter is no longer considered a vessel and is therefore unfit to contain the water of purification. And it is also disqualified as a shard [ gastera ] of a vessel. A shard still has some utility and is therefore susceptible to ritual impurity. By contrast, an earthenware vessel that contains a small hole that enables only the exit of liquids is fit for the water of purification, but is disqualified as a shard of a vessel.

Segment 9

אָמַר רַב אַסִּי, שׁוֹנִין: כְּלֵי חֶרֶס שִׁיעוּרוֹ בְּכוֹנֵס מַשְׁקֶה, וְלֹא אָמְרוּ מוֹצִיא מַשְׁקֶה אֶלָּא לְעִנְיַן גִּסְטְרָא בִּלְבַד. מַאי טַעְמָא? אָמַר מָר זוּטְרָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב נַחְמָן: לְפִי שֶׁאֵין אוֹמְרִים ״הָבֵא גִּסְטְרָא לְגִסְטְרָא״.

Rav Asi says that they teach the following halakha : In the case of an earthenware vessel, its measure of a hole that renders it no longer ritually impure is one that is large enough to enable liquid to enter it. And they said that the measure of a small hole is that which enables the exit of liquids only with regard to a shard. The Gemara inquires: What is the reason for this? Mar Zutra, son of Rav Naḥman, said: It is because people do not say: Bring another shard to seal the leak of a shard; rather, they throw it out immediately. A shard is used as a plate beneath a perforated earthenware vessel. If the shard itself is also perforated and leaks, it is no longer of any use.

Segment 10

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: כֵּיצַד בּוֹדְקִין כְּלִי חֶרֶס לֵידַע אִם נִיקַּב בְּכוֹנֵס מַשְׁקֶה אִם לָאו? יָבִיא עֲרֵיבָה מְלֵאָה מַיִם, וְנוֹתֵן קְדֵרָה לְתוֹכָהּ. אִם כְּנָסָהּ — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁכּוֹנֵס מַשְׁקֶה, וְאִם לָאו — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁמּוֹצִיא מַשְׁקֶה.

§ On the topic of holes in earthenware vessels, the Sages taught in a baraita : How does one test a broken earthenware vessel to know if it was pierced with a hole that enables liquid to enter it or not? One brings a tub filled with water and places the broken pot into it. If the water from the tub enters the pot, it is known that the pot contains a hole that enables liquid to enter. And if the water does not enter the pot, it is known that the vessel contains only a small hole that merely enables the exit of liquids.

Niddah 49a

Niddah 49a

Rashi

Tosafot

Rashba

Ritva

Meiri

Maharsha (Chidushei Halachot)

Maharam

Gilyon HaShas

What this page contains

Continue the sequence

Parallel sources

Lessons and study tools

Original text