## Niddah Daf 38a

###### Niddah 38a:1
[Niddah 38a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:1)

אֲפִילּוּ יָמִים הָרְאוּיִין לִסְפִירַת סְתִירַת זָבָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**even** if she continues to experience bleeding **during** the **days that are fit for the** new **counting** following **the negation** of the days counted by **a *zava*,** she remains pure. If a woman experiences bleeding during her seven clean days, she negates any days counted thus far, and must begin a new count of seven clean days. Accordingly, all the days that follow her days of *ziva* are effectively considered days that are fit for the counting of a *zava*. Therefore, blood emitted due to labor pains during these days is also ritually pure. Consequently, the blood that accompanies labor pains is ritually impure only if she begins to emit it during her days of menstruation.


###### Niddah 38a:2
[Niddah 38a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:2)

תְּנַן: כַּמָּה הוּא קִשּׁוּיָהּ? רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara poses a difficulty with regard to the opinion of Levi: **We learned** in the mishna: **How long** before birth **is** pain attributable to **her** labor **pains? Rabbi Meir says:** Even **forty or fifty days** before the birth. Rabbi Meir apparently maintains that a woman who experiences continuous labor pains accompanied by emissions of blood for forty or fifty days remains pure.


###### Niddah 38a:3
[Niddah 38a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:3)

בִּשְׁלָמָא לְרַב, מַשְׁכַּחַתְּ לַהּ כְּרַב אַדָּא בַּר אַהֲבָה, אֶלָּא לְלֵוִי — קַשְׁיָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains the difficulty: **Granted,** the mishna is clear **according to Rav,** as **you find** that it is possible that she will remain pure for such a long period, i.e., **in accordance with** the explanation of **Rav Adda bar Ahava** that Rav deems the blood pure even during the days that are fit for the new counting following the negation of the days counted by a *zava*. Accordingly, as long as the woman begins to experience labor pains during her days of *ziva*, she remains pure until birth, provided the labor pains continue without a twenty-four-hour period of resting. **But according to Levi,** who maintains that blood accompanying labor pains is pure only during the days of *ziva*, the mishna is **difficult,** as it is impossible for her blood to remain pure due to labor pains for fifty days.


###### Niddah 38a:4
[Niddah 38a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:4)

אָמַר לָךְ לֵוִי: מִי קָתָנֵי ״טְהוֹרָה בְּכוּלָּן״? בִּימֵי נִדָּה — נִדָּה, בִּימֵי זִיבָה — טְהוֹרָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains that **Levi** could **say to you: Does** the mishna **teach** that she is **pure during all** these days, i.e., that she remains pure throughout the days of menstruation and *ziva*? Not so. Rather, if she emitted blood due to labor pains **during the days of menstruation** she has the status of **a menstruating woman,** whereas if she emitted the blood **during the days of *ziva*** she is **pure.** The mishna is teaching only that she will not be deemed a *zava* on account of this blood.


###### Niddah 38a:5
[Niddah 38a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:5)

לִישָּׁנָא אַחֲרִינָא אָמְרִי: אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי: אֵין הַוָּלָד מְטַהֵר אֶלָּא יָמִים הָרְאוּיִין לִהְיוֹת בָּהֶן זָבָה גְּדוֹלָה. מַאי טַעְמָא? דָּמָהּ ״יָמִים רַבִּים״ כְּתִיב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Some Sages **state another version** of the above disagreement: **Rabbi Levi says: The** birth of **a child renders** the mother **ritually pure only** if she experienced bleeding during the eleven **days that are fit** for her **to become a greater *zava*,** i.e., if she experienced bleeding on three consecutive days during that time. But if she experienced bleeding on only one or two days she is rendered a lesser *zava*, and she must observe a clean day for each day she experiences a discharge. **What is the reason?** It **is written:** “And if a woman has an issue of **her blood many days**…all the days of the issue of her impurity she shall be as in the days of her menstruation: She is impure” (Leviticus 15:25). The verse is referring specifically to a greater *zava*, indicating that the *halakha* that a woman is not rendered a *zava* on account of an emission of blood caused by labor pains applies only to a greater *zava*.


###### Niddah 38a:6
[Niddah 38a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:6)

אַבָּא שָׁאוּל מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב אָמַר: אֲפִילּוּ יָמִים הָרְאוּיִין לִהְיוֹת בָּהֶן זָבָה קְטַנָּה, מַאי טַעְמָא? ״יְמֵי״ וְ״כׇל יְמֵי״ הָתָם כְּתִיבִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abba Shaul says in the name of Rav:** The birth of a child renders the mother ritually pure **even** if she experienced bleeding on the **days that are fit** for her **to become a lesser *zava*. What is the reason? “Days” and “many days” are written there,** from which the impurity of a lesser *zava* is derived. Accordingly, the verse includes a lesser *zava* in this *halakha* as well.


###### Niddah 38a:7
[Niddah 38a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:7)

תְּנַן: כַּמָּה הוּא קִשּׁוּיָהּ? רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: אֲפִילּוּ אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם. קַשְׁיָא לְתַרְוַיְיהוּ! מִי קָתָנֵי ״טְהוֹרָה בְּכוּלָּן״? קִשְּׁתָה בִּימֵי נִדָּתָהּ — נִדָּה, בִּימֵי זִיבָתָהּ — טְהוֹרָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara raises a difficulty: **We learned** in the mishna: **How long** before birth **is** pain attributable to **her** labor **pains? Rabbi Meir says: Even forty or fifty days** before the birth. Rabbi Meir apparently maintains that a woman who experiences continuous labor pains accompanied by emissions of blood for forty or fifty days remains pure. If so, the mishna is **difficult according to both** opinions, as all agree that only emissions of blood due to labor pains that occur during her days of *ziva* are pure. The Gemara responds: **Does** the mishna **teach** that **she is pure during all** fifty days? Not so. Rather, if **she experienced** labor **pains** accompanied by emissions of blood **during the days of menstruation** she has the status of **a menstruating woman,** whereas if she experienced them **during the days of *ziva* she is pure.**


###### Niddah 38a:8
[Niddah 38a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:8)

תַּנְיָא, הָיָה רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: יֵשׁ מְקַשָּׁה מֵאָה וַחֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם, וְאֵין זִיבָה עוֹלָה בָּהֶן. כֵּיצַד? שְׁנַיִם בְּלֹא עֵת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to the above statement of Rabbi Meir, it **is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Meir would say: There is** a scenario in which a woman **experiences** labor **pains** accompanied by emissions of blood for **one hundred and fifty days, and** the impurity of ***ziva* is not included in those** days, i.e., she will not be rendered a greater *zava*. **How** so? First, a woman emits blood for **two** days **not at the time** of her menstruation, e.g., she experiences bleeding on the tenth and eleventh days of *ziva*. She is not rendered a menstruating woman by these emissions, as they occurred during the days of *ziva*, nor does she become a greater *zava*, since she experienced bleeding on only two days.


###### Niddah 38a:9
[Niddah 38a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:9)

וְשִׁבְעָה נִדָּה, וּשְׁנַיִם שֶׁל אַחַר הַנִּדָּה, וַחֲמִשִּׁים שֶׁהַוָּלָד מְטַהֵר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Meir continues: **And** then she continues to experience bleeding throughout the **seven** days of **menstruation.** She is not considered to have experienced bleeding of *ziva* for three consecutive days, as the third emission occurred during her days of menstruation. **And** she then experiences bleeding for the first **two** days **after the** days of **menstruation,** i.e., on the first and second days of the eleven days of *ziva*. **And** on the third day of *ziva* she begins the period of **fifty** days before giving birth, during **which the child renders** her **pure.** This constitutes a period of sixty-one days during which she is not rendered a greater *zava*.


###### Niddah 38a:10
[Niddah 38a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:10)

וּשְׁמוֹנִים שֶׁל נְקֵבָה, וְשִׁבְעָה נִדָּה, וּשְׁנַיִם שֶׁל אַחַר הַנִּדָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Meir continues: **And** this period is followed by **eighty** days **of** purity from *ziva* after giving birth to **a female,** for a total of 141 days during which she does not become a greater *zava* on account of blood emitted. **And** there are then **seven** days of **menstruation** following her days of purity, **and** another **two** days **after the** days of **menstruation,** i.e., the first and second days of *ziva*, during which she experiences bleeding, for a total of 150 days during which she does not become a greater *zava* on account of blood emitted.


###### Niddah 38a:11
[Niddah 38a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:11)

אָמְרוּ לוֹ: אִם כֵּן, יֵשׁ מְקַשָּׁה כׇּל יָמֶיהָ, וְאֵין זִיבָה עוֹלָה בָּהֶן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Rabbis **said to** Rabbi Meir: **If so, there is** also a scenario in which a woman **experiences** emissions of blood due to labor **pains** for **all the days of her** life, **and** the impurity of ***ziva* is not included in them.** For example, she gives birth to a female, and at the conclusion of her days of impurity engages in intercourse with her husband and becomes pregnant. She continues to experience bleeding throughout her days of purity, after which she experiences bleeding during the seven days of menstruation and the first two days of the next cycle of *ziva*. She then experiences labor pains accompanied by blood for fifty days, after which she miscarries a female. She subsequently becomes pregnant again within eighty days of the miscarriage, and the above process repeats itself. In this manner, she will never become a greater *zava*.


###### Niddah 38a:12
[Niddah 38a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:12)

אָמַר לָהֶן: מַאי דַּעְתַּיְיכוּ? מִשּׁוּם נְפָלִים? אֵין קוֹשִׁי לִנְפָלִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Meir **said to them: What is your opinion,** that a woman is not rendered a *zava* **due to** the birth of **non-viable newborns?** The *halakha* that blood emitted due to labor **pains** does not render a woman a *zava* does **not** apply **to non-viable newborns.**


###### Niddah 38a:13
[Niddah 38a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:13)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: יֵשׁ רוֹאָה מֵאָה יוֹם, וְאֵין זִיבָה עוֹלָה בָּהֶן. כֵּיצַד? שְׁנַיִם בְּלֹא עֵת, וְשִׁבְעָה נִדָּה, וּשְׁנַיִם שֶׁל אַחַר הַנִּדָּה, וּשְׁמוֹנִים שֶׁל נְקֵבָה, וְשִׁבְעָה נִדָּה, וּשְׁנַיִם שֶׁל אַחַר הַנִּדָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: **There is** a scenario in which a woman **sees** blood for **one hundred days, and** the impurity of greater ***ziva* is not included in them. How** so? She emits blood for **two** days **not at the time** of her menstruation, **and** then throughout the **seven** days of **menstruation, and** then for the first **two** days **after the** days of **menstruation. And** this period is followed by **eighty** days **of** purity from *ziva* after giving birth to **a female, and seven** days of **menstruation** following her days of purity, **and** another **two** days **after the** days of **menstruation.** This amounts to one hundred days.


###### Niddah 38a:14
[Niddah 38a:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:14)

מַאי קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן? לְאַפּוֹקֵי מִמַּאן דְּאָמַר אִי אֶפְשָׁר לִפְתִיחַת הַקֶּבֶר בְּלֹא דָּם, קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן דְּאֶפְשָׁר לִפְתִיחַת הַקֶּבֶר בְּלֹא דָּם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is** this *baraita* **teaching us?** The Gemara responds: The *baraita* serves **to exclude** the opinion of **the one who said** that **it is impossible for** there to be **an opening of the womb [*hakever*] without** an emission of **blood.** According to this opinion, if a woman gives birth after experiencing bleeding on the first two days after the days of menstruation, it is certain she experienced bleeding on the third day as well, as every birth is accompanied by an emission of blood. Consequently, she has experienced bleeding on three consecutive days during the days of *ziva* and is rendered a greater *zava*. The *baraita* **teaches us that it is possible for** there to be **an opening of the womb without** an emission of **blood.** Therefore, if she gave birth on the third day of *ziva* and she did not experience bleeding, she is not rendered a greater *zava*.


###### Niddah 38a:15
[Niddah 38a:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:15)

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר דַּיָּהּ וְכוּ׳. תַּנְיָא: רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן: דַּיָּהּ חׇדְשָׁהּ, וְיֵשׁ בַּדָּבָר לְהָקֵל וּלְהַחֲמִיר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna teaches that **Rabbi Yehuda says:** It is **sufficient** that a woman is not rendered a *zava* on account of blood that is emitted due to labor pains only from within one month of her due date. In this regard, it **is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Tarfon:** It is **sufficient for her** not to be rendered a *zava* from within one **month** of **her** due date. **And there is** an aspect of **leniency and** an aspect of **stringency in the matter.**


###### Niddah 38a:16
[Niddah 38a:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:16)

כֵּיצַד? קִשְּׁתָה שְׁנַיִם בְּסוֹף שְׁמִינִי וְאֶחָד בִּתְחִלַּת תְּשִׁיעִי, וַאֲפִילּוּ בִּתְחִלַּת תְּשִׁיעִי יָלְדָה — הֲרֵי זוֹ יוֹלֶדֶת בְּזוֹב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* explains: **How** so? If **she experienced** labor **pains** accompanied by an emission of blood for **two** days **at the end of** her **eighth** month of pregnancy, which are days in which she can be rendered a *zava*, **and** for **one** day **at the beginning of** her **ninth** month, then **even** if she **gave birth** at **the beginning of** the **ninth** month, the one day from the ninth month joins together with the two days from the eighth month, and **this** woman is considered **one who gives birth as a *zava*.** This is an aspect of stringency.


###### Niddah 38a:17
[Niddah 38a:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:17)

אֲבָל קִשְּׁתָה יוֹם אֶחָד בְּסוֹף שְׁמִינִי וּשְׁתַּיִם בִּתְחִלַּת תְּשִׁיעִי, וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּסוֹף תְּשִׁיעִי יָלְדָה — אֵין זוֹ יוֹלֶדֶת בְּזוֹב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**But** if **she experienced** labor **pains** accompanied by an emission of blood for **one day at the end of** her **eighth** month, **and** for only **two** days **at the beginning of** her **ninth** month, then **even** if she **gave birth at the end of** the **ninth** month, **this** woman **is not** considered **one who gives birth as a *zava*,** and she is pure. This is an aspect of leniency.


###### Niddah 38a:18
[Niddah 38a:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:18)

אָמַר רַב אַדָּא בַּר אַהֲבָה: שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ קָסָבַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה שִׁיפּוּרָא גָּרֵים. אִינִי? וְהָא אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אֵין אִשָּׁה מִתְעַבֶּרֶת וְיוֹלֶדֶת אֶלָּא לְמָאתַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם, אוֹ לְמָאתַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים וּשְׁנַיִם יוֹם, אוֹ לְמָאתַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Adda bar Ahava says: Conclude from** the *baraita* that **Rabbi Yehuda holds** that the blast of **the shofar** at the beginning of the ninth month **causes** the blood emitted during that month to be pure. That is to say, once the ninth months begins, any blood emitted does not render her a *zava*. The Gemara asks: **Is that so,** that the entire ninth month of pregnancy is suitable for giving birth, and therefore any blood seen during the ninth month is attributed to the imminent labor? **But doesn’t Shmuel say** that **a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth only after 271 days,** which is a full nine months, **or after 272 days, or after 273** days? She will not, however, give birth during the ninth month itself.


###### Niddah 38a:19
[Niddah 38a:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/38a:19)

הוּא דְּאָמַר כַּחֲסִידִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, דְּתַנְיָא: חֲסִידִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לֹא הָיוּ מְשַׁמְּשִׁין מִטּוֹתֵיהֶן אֶלָּא בִּרְבִיעִי בְּשַׁבָּת, שֶׁלֹּא יָבוֹאוּ נְשׁוֹתֵיהֶן

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara responds: Shmuel **said** his statement **in accordance with** the opinion of **the early** generations of **pious** men. **As it is taught** in a *baraita*: **The early** generations of **pious** men **would engage in sexual intercourse only on a Wednesday, so that their wives should not come**