## Niddah Daf 29b

###### Niddah 29b:1
[Niddah 29b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:1)

אִשָּׁה שֶׁיָּצְתָה מְלֵאָה וּבָאָה רֵיקָנִית, וְהֵבִיאָה לְפָנֵינוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה שָׁבוּעִין טְהוֹרִין, וַעֲשָׂרָה שְׁבוּעוֹת אֶחָד טָמֵא וְאֶחָד טָהוֹר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**A 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.


###### Niddah 29b:2
[Niddah 29b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:2)

מְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת לְאוֹר שְׁלֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ, וּמַטְבִּילִין אוֹתָהּ תִּשְׁעִים וְחָמֵשׁ טְבִילוֹת, דִּבְרֵי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: שְׁלֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: דַּיָּהּ לַטְּבִילָה שֶׁתְּהֵא בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In 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.


###### Niddah 29b:3
[Niddah 29b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:3)

בִּשְׁלָמָא שָׁבוּעַ רִאשׁוֹן לֹא מְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת, אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת זָכָר הִיא; שָׁבוּעַ שֵׁנִי, אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת נְקֵבָה הִיא;

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The 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.


###### Niddah 29b:4
[Niddah 29b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:4)

שָׁבוּעַ שְׁלִישִׁי, אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת נְקֵבָה בְּזוֹב הִיא;

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It 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.


###### Niddah 29b:5
[Niddah 29b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:5)

אֶלָּא שָׁבוּעַ רְבִיעִי, אַף עַל גַּב דְּקָא חָזְיָא דָּם — תְּשַׁמֵּשׁ, דְּהָא דָּם טָהוֹר הוּא. לָאו מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא אָזְלִינַן בָּתַר רוּבָּא?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**But** 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.


###### Niddah 29b:6
[Niddah 29b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:6)

אֶלָּא מַאי ״לָא יָדַעְנָא מַאי תְּיוּבְתָּא״? אֵימַר: הִרְחִיקָה לֵידָתָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The 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.


###### Niddah 29b:7
[Niddah 29b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:7)

הָךְ שְׁבוּעַ חֲמִישִׁי דְּטָהוֹר הוּא, תְּשַׁמֵּשׁ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ 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?


###### Niddah 29b:8
[Niddah 29b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:8)

הָךְ שָׁבוּעַ רְבִיעִי, כֹּל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא מַסְפְּקִינַן בְּסוֹף לֵידָה וּבִתְחִלַּת נִדָּה, וְעֶשְׂרִין וּתְמָנְיָא גּוּפֵיהּ אֵימַר תְּחִלַּת נִדָּה הִיא, וּבָעֲיָא לְמֵיתַב שִׁבְעָה לְנִדָּתָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The 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.


###### Niddah 29b:9
[Niddah 29b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:9)

בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְחַד תְּשַׁמֵּשׁ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The 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.


###### Niddah 29b:10
[Niddah 29b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:10)

רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן הִיא, דְּאָמַר: ״אָסוּר לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן״, שֶׁמָּא תָּבֹא לִידֵי סָפֵק. לְאוּרְתָּא תְּשַׁמֵּשׁ? כְּשֶׁרָאֲתָה בָּעֶרֶב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The 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.


###### Niddah 29b:11
[Niddah 29b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:11)

וּמַטְבִּילִין אוֹתָהּ תִּשְׁעִים וְחָמֵשׁ טְבִילוֹת. שָׁבוּעַ קַמָּא מַטְבִּילִין אוֹתָהּ בְּלֵילָוָתָא, אֵימַר יוֹלֶדֶת זָכָר הִיא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ 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.


###### Niddah 29b:12
[Niddah 29b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:12)

שָׁבוּעַ שֵׁנִי, מַטְבִּילִין אוֹתָהּ בְּלֵילָוָתָא, אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת נְקֵבָה הִיא. (בִּימָמָא) [בִּימָמֵי], אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת זָכָר בְּזוֹב הִיא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
During 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.


###### Niddah 29b:13
[Niddah 29b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:13)

שָׁבוּעַ שְׁלִישִׁי מַטְבִּילִין לַהּ (בִּימָמָא) [בִּימָמֵי], אֵימַר: יוֹלֶדֶת נְקֵבָה בְּזוֹב הִיא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
During 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.


###### Niddah 29b:14
[Niddah 29b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/29b:14)

בְּלֵילָוָתָא, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי לְטַעְמַיְיהוּ, דְּאָמְרִי: טְבוּלַת יוֹם אָרוֹךְ בָּעֵי טְבִילָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
She 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.