## Niddah Daf 25b

###### Niddah 25b:1
[Niddah 25b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:1)

וְטוֹרְדִין אוֹתוֹ, אֶלָּא בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ בְּשֶׁמֶן — שֶׁהַשֶּׁמֶן רַךְ וּמְצַחְצְחוֹ, וְאֵין רוֹאִין אֶלָּא בַּחַמָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**and dissolves it. Rather, one examines it with oil, as oil is soft and cleans** the embryo so that its sex can be discerned. **And one views** it **only in** the light of **the sun.**


###### Niddah 25b:2
[Niddah 25b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:2)

כֵּיצַד בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ? כֵּיצַד בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ?! כִּדְאָמְרִינַן! אֶלָּא, בַּמֶּה בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ לֵידַע אִם זָכָר הוּא אִם נְקֵבָה הִיא?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* continues: **How does one examine** the embryo? The Gemara expresses surprise at this question: **How does one examine it** to determine whether it has the halakhic status of an offspring? Clearly, one examines it **as we** just **said. Rather,** the question is as follows: **In what** manner **does one examine it to ascertain whether it is male or** whether **it is female?**


###### Niddah 25b:3
[Niddah 25b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:3)

אַבָּא שָׁאוּל בַּר נַשׁ, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ אַבָּא שָׁאוּל בַּר רֶמֶשׂ, אוֹמֵר: מֵבִיא קֵיסָם שֶׁרֹאשׁוֹ חָלָק, וּמְנַעְנֵעַ בְּאוֹתוֹ מָקוֹם, אִם מְסַכְסֵךְ — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁזָּכָר הוּא, וְאִם לָאו — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁנְּקֵבָה הִיא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abba Shaul bar Nash, and some say Abba Shaul bar Remash, says: One brings a sliver of wood whose top is smooth, and he moves** it along the embryo **in that place,** i.e., the sex organ. **If** the sliver **is caught,** i.e., its movement is not smooth, **it is known that** the embryo **is male,** as its member interfered with the movement of the sliver. **And if** the sliver is **not** caught, **it is known that it is female.**


###### Niddah 25b:4
[Niddah 25b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:4)

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר אֲבוּהּ: לֹא שָׁנוּ אֶלָּא מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה, אֲבָל מִן הַצְּדָדִין — אֵימָא כּוֹתְלֵי בֵּית הָרֶחֶם נִינְהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Naḥman says** that **Rabba bar Avuh says: They taught** this *halakha*, that if the movement of the sliver is not smooth then the embryo is male, **only** if the sliver was moved along the sex organ of the embryo **from below to above; but** if it was moved **from the sides,** from one side to the other, the fact that it was not smooth does not prove that the embryo is male, as one can **say** that **the sides of the womb** interfered.


###### Niddah 25b:5
[Niddah 25b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:5)

אָמַר רַב אַדָּא בַּר אַהֲבָה: תָּנָא, ״אִם הָיְתָה נְקֵבָה — נְדוֹנָה כִּשְׂעוֹרָה סְדוּקָה״. מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב נַחְמָן: וְדִילְמָא חוּט שֶׁל בֵּיצִים נִינְהוּ? אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: הַשְׁתָּא בֵּיצִים גּוּפַיְיהוּ לָא יְדִיעִי, חוּט שֶׁל בֵּיצִים יְדִיעַ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Adda bar Ahava says:** The complete version of the *baraita* is **taught** as follows: **If it was female,** its vagina can be **discerned** by the appearance **of** a line like **a cracked** grain of **barley** oriented along the length of its body. **Rav Naḥman objects to this: But perhaps it is** not the vagina but **the recess between the testes,** and the embryo is male. **Abaye said** to him: **Now,** at this stage of development, **the testes** of the embryo **themselves are not discernible.** Is it possible that **the recess between the testes is discernible?**


###### Niddah 25b:6
[Niddah 25b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:6)

אָמַר רַבִּי עַמְרָם, תָּנָא: שְׁתֵּי יַרְכוֹתָיו כִּשְׁנֵי חוּטִין שֶׁל זְהוֹרִית. וְאָמַר רַבִּי עַמְרָם עֲלַהּ: כְּשֶׁל עֵרֶב. וּשְׁנֵי זְרוֹעוֹתָיו כִּשְׁנֵי חוּטִין שֶׁל זְהוֹרִית, וְאָמַר רַבִּי עַמְרָם עֲלַהּ: כְּשֶׁל שְׁתִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* teaches that at this stage an embryo does not have the shape of arms and legs. **Rabbi Amram says** that **it is taught** in a *baraita* that when an embryo’s arms and legs start to take shape, **its two thighs** look **like two strings of crimson** thread **[*zehorit*]. And Rabbi Amram says with regard to** this matter that the thighs look **like** two strings **of the woof,** which are thicker than those of the warp. The *baraita* adds: **And its two arms** look **like two strings of crimson** thread**. And Rabbi Amram says with regard to** this matter that the arms look **like** two strings **of the warp.**


###### Niddah 25b:7
[Niddah 25b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:7)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ שְׁמוּאֵל לְרַב יְהוּדָה: שִׁינָּנָא, לָא תַּעֲבֵיד עוֹבָדָא עַד שֶׁיַּשְׂעִיר. וּמִי אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל הָכִי? וְהָאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אַחַת זוֹ וְאַחַת זוֹ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Shmuel said to Rav Yehuda: *Shinnana*, do not perform an action,** i.e., do not issue a practical ruling deeming a woman who discharges an embryo at this stage of development impure, **unless** the embryo **has grown hair.** The Gemara asks: **And did Shmuel** actually **say that? But doesn’t Shmuel say** with regard to a woman who discharged a gestational sac that **both** in **this** case, where the amniotic fluid is turbid, **and** in **that** case, where the fluid is clear, the woman must be **concerned** that the discharged gestational sac might have the status of an offspring, which would mean that she is impure even without the growth of hair on the embryo?


###### Niddah 25b:8
[Niddah 25b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:8)

אָמַר רַב אַמֵּי בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל: לְדִידִי מִפָּרְשָׁא לִי מִינֵּיהּ דְּמָר שְׁמוּאֵל — לָחוֹשׁ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת, יְמֵי טׇהֳרָה לָא יָהֲבִינַן לַהּ עַד שֶׁיַּשְׂעִיר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ami bar Shmuel says:** This matter was **explained to me by Mar Shmuel:** As for **being concerned** that perhaps she is impure, the woman must be **concerned,** due to the uncertainty whether she discharged an offspring. But **we do not give her** the **days of purity** that follow the period of impurity for a woman who gave birth, **unless** the embryo **has grown hair.**


###### Niddah 25b:9
[Niddah 25b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:9)

לְמֵימְרָא דִּמְסַפְּקָא לֵיהּ לִשְׁמוּאֵל? וְהָא הָהוּא שְׁפִירָא דַּאֲתָאי לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּמָר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֲמַר: ״הָא בַּר אַרְבְּעִין וְחַד יוֹמָא״, וְחַשֵּׁיב מִיּוֹמָא דְּאָזְלָא לִטְבִילָה עַד הָהוּא יוֹמָא, וְלָא הֲוָה אֶלָּא אַרְבְּעִין יוֹמִין,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Is that to say that Shmuel is uncertain** whether a gestational sac has the halakhic status of an offspring? **But** there was an incident involving **a certain gestational sac that was brought before Mar Shmuel,** and Shmuel **said: This** embryo **is forty-one days old. And** Shmuel subsequently **calculated** the amount of time that had passed **from the day that** the woman **went to** perform **immersion** in a ritual bath **until that day, and it was only forty days.**


###### Niddah 25b:10
[Niddah 25b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:10)

וַאֲמַר לְהוּ: הַאי בְּנִדָּה בְּעַל; כַּפְתֵיהּ, וְאוֹדִי! שָׁאנֵי שְׁמוּאֵל, דְּרַב גּוּבְרֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And he said to** the local court: **This** husband **engaged in intercourse with** his wife when she was **a menstruating woman. They bound** the husband **and he confessed.** Since Shmuel was so proficient in embryology, why was he unsure about the halakhic status of a gestational sac? The Gemara answers: **Shmuel** himself **is different, as his strength,** i.e., his proficiency, was **great.** His general ruling that the halakhic status of a gestational sac is uncertain applies to people who are not as proficient as he is.


###### Niddah 25b:11
[Niddah 25b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:11)

הַמַּפֶּלֶת סַנְדָּל וְכוּ׳. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: סַנְדָּל דּוֹמֶה לַדָּג שֶׁל יָם, מִתְּחִלָּתוֹ וָלָד הוּא, אֶלָּא שֶׁנִּרְצַף. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר: סַנְדָּל דּוֹמֶה לַלָּשׁוֹן שֶׁל שׁוֹר הַגָּדוֹל. מִשּׁוּם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הֵעִידוּ: סַנְדָּל צָרִיךְ צוּרַת פָּנִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna teaches that a woman **who discharges a sandal** fetus or one who discharges an afterbirth observes the strictures of a woman who gave birth both to a male and to a female. **The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: **A sandal** fetus has **a similar** appearance **to** a certain **fish of** the **sea** known as a sandal fish;it looks as though **it is** a full-fledged **offspring from the outset, but it was mashed. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A sandal** fetus has an appearance that is **similar to the tongue of the large bull.** Students **testified in the name of our teachers** that for **a sandal** fetus to have the halakhic status of an offspring, it **requires the shape of a face.**


###### Niddah 25b:12
[Niddah 25b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:12)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה, אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: הֲלָכָה, סַנְדָּל צָרִיךְ צוּרַת פָּנִים. אָמַר רַב אַדָּא, אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: סַנְדָּל צָרִיךְ צוּרַת פָּנִים, וַאֲפִילּוּ מֵאֲחוֹרָיו. מָשָׁל לְאָדָם שֶׁסָּטַר אֶת חֲבֵירוֹ, וְהֶחְזִיר פָּנָיו לַאֲחוֹרָיו.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda says** that **Shmuel says:** The ***halakha*** is that **a sandal** fetus **requires the shape of a face** for it to have the status of an offspring. **Rav Adda says** that **Rav Yosef says** that **Rabbi Yitzḥak says: A sandal** fetus **requires the shape of a face, but** the face does not need to be in its proper location; **even** if the face is **on the back of its** head, the fetus has the status of an offspring. **A parable to** which this situation can be compared is that of **a person who slapped another** in the face **and pushed his face back.** Here too, the face of the sandal fetus was pushed back due to external pressure.


###### Niddah 25b:13
[Niddah 25b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:13)

בִּימֵי רַבִּי יַנַּאי, בִּקְּשׁוּ לְטַהֵר אֶת הַסַּנְדָּל שֶׁאֵין לוֹ צוּרַת פָּנִים. אָמַר לָהֶם רַבִּי יַנַּאי: טִיהַרְתֶּם אֶת הַוְּולָדוֹת!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates: **In the days of Rabbi Yannai,** the other Sages **wished to deem pure** a woman who discharges **a sandal** fetus **that does not have the shape of a face. Rabbi Yannai said to them: You have deemed pure** women who discharge **offspring.** Rabbi Yannai holds that even a sandal fetus that does not have the shape of a face is considered an offspring.


###### Niddah 25b:14
[Niddah 25b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:14)

וְהָתַנְיָא: מִשּׁוּם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הֵעִידוּ: סַנְדָּל צָרִיךְ צוּרַת פָּנִים! אָמַר רַב בִּיבִי בַּר אַבָּיֵי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מֵעֵדוּתוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא נִשְׁנֵית מִשְׁנָה זוֹ. אָמַר רַבִּי זְעֵירָא: זְכָה בַּהּ רַב בִּיבִי בִּשְׁמַעְתֵּיהּ, דַּאֲנָא וְהוּא הֲוֵינָא יָתְבִין קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן כִּי אַמְרַהּ לְהָא שְׁמַעְתָּא, וּקְדַם אִיהוּ וַאֲמַר וּזְכָה בַּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **But isn’t it taught** in a *baraita* that students **testified in the name of our teachers** that for **a sandal** fetus to have the halakhic status of an offspring it **requires the shape of a face? Rav Beivai bar Abaye says** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says** in response: **This mishna,** i.e., the ruling to which the students testified, **is taught from the testimony of Rabbi Neḥunya.** In other words, this ruling is the opinion of an individual *tanna*, which is not accepted. **Rabbi Zeira says: Rav Beivai merited that his** ruling of ***halakha*,** which he transmitted in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan, was accepted. **As he and I were** both **sitting before Rabbi Yoḥanan when** Rabbi Yoḥanan **said this *halakha*, but** Rav Beivai **said it first** to the other Sages, **and** thereby **merited** that **it** was ascribed to him.


###### Niddah 25b:15
[Niddah 25b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:15)

לָמָּה הִזְכִּירוּ סַנְדָּל, וַהֲלֹא אֵין סַנְדָּל שֶׁאֵין עִמּוֹ וָלָד?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara asks: **Why** does the mishna **mention** that if a woman discharged **a sandal** fetus she observes the strictures of a woman who gave birth both to a male and to a female? Since **there is no** such thing as **a sandal** fetus **that** does **not** have another **offspring with it,** which mashed it and gave it the form of a sandal fish, in any case the woman has the impurity of a woman after childbirth.


###### Niddah 25b:16
[Niddah 25b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:16)

אִי דְּאִתְיְלִידָא נְקֵבָה בַּהֲדֵיהּ — הָכִי נָמֵי, הָכָא בְּמַאי עָסְקִינַן — דְּאִתְיְלִיד זָכָר בַּהֲדֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **If** it is **a female** offspring that **is born with** the sandal fetus, it is **indeed** unnecessary to mention the *halakha* of the sandal fetus, as the woman is in any case impure for two weeks. But **here we are dealing with** a case **where a male is born with it,** on account of which the woman would be impure for only seven days were it not for the sandal fetus.


###### Niddah 25b:17
[Niddah 25b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:17)

מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא: הוֹאִיל וְאָמַר רַב יִצְחָק בַּר אַמֵּי, אִשָּׁה מַזְרַעַת תְּחִילָּה — יוֹלֶדֶת זָכָר, אִישׁ מַזְרִיעַ תְּחִלָּה — יוֹלֶדֶת נְקֵבָה, מִדְּהָא זָכָר — הָא נָמֵי זָכָר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In this case, it is necessary for the mishna to state that the woman observes the strictures of one who gave birth both to a male and to a female, **lest you say** that **since Rav Yitzḥak bar Ami says** that the sex of a fetus is determined at the moment of conception, as, if the **woman emits seed first she gives birth to a male** and if the **man emits seed first she gives birth to a female,** therefore, it can be concluded **from** the fact **that this** offspring that was born with the sandal fetus **is male,** that **this** sandal fetus **is also male.**


###### Niddah 25b:18
[Niddah 25b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:18)

קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן: אֵימָא שְׁנֵיהֶם הִזְרִיעוּ בְּבַת אַחַת, הַאי זָכָר וְהַאי נְקֵבָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Lest this reasoning be accepted, the mishna **teaches us** that the woman must observe the strictures of a woman who gave birth to a female as well. This is because one can **say** that perhaps **both** the man and the woman **emitted seed at the same time,** and consequently **this** offspring **is male and that** sandal fetus **is female.**


###### Niddah 25b:19
[Niddah 25b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:19)

דָּבָר אַחֵר: שֶׁאִם תֵּלֵד נְקֵבָה לִפְנֵי שְׁקִיעַת הַחַמָּה, וְסַנְדָּל לְאַחַר שְׁקִיעַת הַחַמָּה —

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Alternatively,** it can be suggested that it is necessary for the mishna to state this *halakha* even with regard to a case where the twin of the sandal fetus is female, **as, if** the woman **gives birth to** the **female before sunset and** gives birth to the **sandal** fetus **after sunset,** which is considered the next day, the sex of the sandal fetus affects the count of the woman’s periods of impurity and purity.


###### Niddah 25b:20
[Niddah 25b:20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:20)

מוֹנֶה תְּחִלַּת נִדָּה לָרִאשׁוֹן, וּתְחִלַּת נִדָּה לָאַחֲרוֹן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If the sandal fetus is male, the woman’s status as a woman after childbirth ends after the eightieth day from the birth of the female offspring, and **she counts the beginning of** the period when seeing blood renders her impure as **a menstruating woman from** the birth of **the first** offspring, i.e., the female. **But** if the sandal fetus is female, the woman has the status of a woman after childbirth until after the eightieth day from its birth, which is the eighty-first day from the birth of the first offspring. If so, she counts **the beginning of** the period when seeing blood renders her impure as **a menstruating woman from** the birth of **the last** offspring, i.e., the sandal fetus.


###### Niddah 25b:21
[Niddah 25b:21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/25b:21)

סַנְדָּל דִּתְנַן

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara discusses why the case of a woman who discharged a sandal fetus is mentioned in other *mishnayot*, given that a sandal fetus always has a twin. First the Gemara discusses the *halakha* of a woman who discharged **a sandal** fetus **that we learned** in a mishna