## Niddah Daf 68a

###### Niddah 68a:1
[Niddah 68a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:1)

תִּסְגֵּי אַיְיתִי לִמְחַר, וִידַע מַאי קָאָמְרָה לֵיהּ, אֲמַר: דּוּדֵי חָסְרַתְּ, טַשְׁטָקֵי חָסְרַתְּ, עַבְדֵי חָסְרַתְּ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rather, **it is sufficient if you come** back again **tomorrow** and speak with me then about this matter. **And** Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak **knew what she was saying to him.** She was alluding to the fact that she had not washed her hair while it was still daylight, and therefore she could not immerse that evening. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak **said** to her: **Are you lacking kettles [*dudei*]** to heat water to wash your hair? **Are you lacking buckets [*tashtekei*]** to bring the water to wash your hair? **Are you lacking servants,** who can help you prepare to wash your hair? It can be inferred from this story that Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak holds that it is permitted for a woman to wash her hair and immerse on the same night.


###### Niddah 68a:2
[Niddah 68a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:2)

דְּרַשׁ רָבָא: אִשָּׁה חוֹפֶפֶת בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְטוֹבֶלֶת בְּמוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב פָּפָּא לְרָבָא: וְהָא שְׁלַח רָבִין בְּאִגַּרְתֵּיהּ ״אִשָּׁה לֹא תָּחוֹף בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְתִטְבּוֹל בְּמוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Rava taught: A woman may wash** her hair **on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat. Rav Pappa said to Rava: But didn’t Ravin send** the following *halakha* **in his letter: A woman may not wash** her hair **on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat?** Instead, she should wash her hair after the conclusion of Shabbat immediately before she immerses.


###### Niddah 68a:3
[Niddah 68a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:3)

וּתְמַהּ עַל עַצְמְךָ: הֵיאַךְ חוֹפֶפֶת בַּיּוֹם וְטוֹבֶלֶת בַּלַּיְלָה, הָא בָּעֵינַן תֵּכֶף לַחֲפִיפָה טְבִילָה, וְלֵיכָּא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And** furthermore, you should **be astounded with yourself: How** did the Sages deem it permitted for a woman on a weekday to **wash** her hair **during the day and immerse at night? Don’t we require** that her **immersion** must be **immediately** after **washing** her hair? **And** if she washes her hair during the day, this requirement will **not** be fulfilled. The Sages reluctantly permitted a woman to wash her hair during the day, and they permitted this only due to the concern that she might not wash her hair properly if she would wait until night. Consequently, with regard to an immersion on the conclusion of Shabbat, she should avoid washing her hair a day or more in advance.


###### Niddah 68a:4
[Niddah 68a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:4)

הֲדַר אוֹקִי רָבָא אָמוֹרָא עֲלֵיהּ, וּדְרַשׁ: דְּבָרִים שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי לִפְנֵיכֶם, טָעוּת הֵן בְּיָדִי. בְּרַם כָּךְ אָמְרוּ מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: אִשָּׁה לֹא תָּחוֹף בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְתִטְבּוֹל בְּמוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת, וּתְמַהּ עַל עַצְמְךָ: הֵיאַךְ חוֹפֶפֶת בַּיּוֹם וְטוֹבֶלֶת בַּלַּיְלָה? הָא בָּעֵינַן סָמוּךְ לַחֲפִיפָה טְבִילָה, וְלֵיכָּא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
As a result of Rav Pappa’s comments, **Rava then appointed an interpreter before him** to publicize his retraction, **and** he **taught: The statement I said to you was a mistake of mine. But** in fact **this** is what the Sages **said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: A woman may not wash** her hair **on the eve of Shabbat and immerse after the conclusion of Shabbat. And** furthermore you should **be astounded with yourself. How** can a woman **wash** her hair **during the day and immerse at night? Don’t we require:** Her **immersion** must be **immediately** after **washing** her hair? **And** if she washes her hair on the eve of Shabbat, this principle will **not** be fulfilled.


###### Niddah 68a:5
[Niddah 68a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:5)

וְהִלְכְתָא: אִשָּׁה חוֹפֶפֶת בַּיּוֹם וְטוֹבֶלֶת בַּלַּיְלָה. וְהִלְכְתָא: אִשָּׁה לֹא תָּחוֹף אֶלָּא בַּלַּיְלָה. (אֶלָּא) קַשְׁיָא הִלְכְתָא אַהִלְכְתָא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara concludes: **And the *halakha*** is that **a woman may wash** her hair **during the day and immerse at night. And the *halakha*** is that **a woman may wash** her hair **only at night.** The Gemara comments: This is **difficult,** as one ***halakha*** contradicts **the** other ***halakha*.**


###### Niddah 68a:6
[Niddah 68a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:6)

לָא קַשְׁיָא — הָא דְּאֶפְשָׁר, הָא דְּלָא אֶפְשָׁר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: It is **not difficult. This** ruling that she may wash her hair during the day is referring to a case **where it is possible,** e.g., when she immerses on a weeknight and can wash her hair shortly beforehand during the daytime. **That** ruling that she is permitted to wash her hair only at night is referring to a case **where it is not possible,** e.g., when her time for immersion is after the conclusion of Shabbat. Since she may not wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat for an immersion after the conclusion of Shabbat, she must wash her hair at night, after Shabbat has ended, immediately before she immerses.


###### Niddah 68a:7
[Niddah 68a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:7)

**מַתְנִי'** נִדָּה שֶׁבָּדְקָה עַצְמָהּ יוֹם שְׁבִיעִי שַׁחֲרִית, וּמָצְאָה טְהוֹרָה, וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת לֹא הִפְרִישָׁה, וּלְאַחַר יָמִים בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְמֵאָה — הֲרֵי הִיא בְּחֶזְקַת טְהוֹרָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** In the case of **a menstruating woman who examined herself** on the **seventh day** of menstruation in **the morning and found** that **she is ritually pure** and eligible to immerse in a ritual bath that evening, **but** during **twilight** of the seventh day she **did not** perform an examination that marks the **transition** between the days when she has a flow of blood and the days when she no longer has a flow of blood but immersed despite not having performed the examination, **and after** several **days she examined** herself and **found** that **she is ritually impure, the presumptive status of that** woman is one of **ritual purity** from the time of her immersion until her examination, and all ritually pure items that she handled in the interim remain pure.


###### Niddah 68a:8
[Niddah 68a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:8)

בָּדְקָה עַצְמָהּ בְּיוֹם שְׁבִיעִי שַׁחֲרִית וּמָצְאָה טְמֵאָה, וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת לֹא הִפְרִישָׁה, וּלְאַחַר זְמַן בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְהוֹרָה — הֲרֵי זוֹ בְּחֶזְקַת טְמֵאָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **she examined herself on** the **seventh day** of menstruation in **the morning and found** that **she is ritually impure,** i.e., her menstrual flow continued, **and** during **twilight** of the seventh day she **did not** perform an examination to confirm the **transition** from ritual impurity to ritual purity but immersed nonetheless, **and after** several **days she examined** herself and **found** that **she is ritually pure, the presumptive status of that** woman is one of **ritual impurity** from the time of her immersion until her examination, and all ritually pure items that she handled in the interim are impure. Since she found blood during her last examination in her days of menstruation, the concern is that the flow of blood continued during the days that followed, and therefore her immersion on the eve of the eighth day was ineffective.


###### Niddah 68a:9
[Niddah 68a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:9)

וּמְטַמְּאָה מֵעֵת לְעֵת, וּמִפְּקִידָה לִפְקִידָה. וְאִם יֵשׁ לָהּ וֶסֶת — דַּיָּה שְׁעָתָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In a case where there was no blood found during the examination on the seventh morning and she did not examine herself during twilight, and several days later she discovered blood, where the mishna says that a woman’s presumptive status is one of ritual purity, that is the *halakha* only for the days following immersion. **But she transmits ritual impurity** to the ritually pure items that she handled before the examination in which she found blood **for** a twenty-four-hour **period and from examination to examination,** in accordance with the *halakha* of a woman who experiences bleeding (see 2a). **And if she has** a fixed menstrual **cycle,** on the day that she examined herself and found blood, **her time is sufficient,** i.e., it is assumed that the bleeding began then, and she does not transmit impurity retroactively.


###### Niddah 68a:10
[Niddah 68a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:10)

וְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: כֹּל שֶׁלֹּא הִפְרִישָׁה בְּטָהֳרָה מִן הַמִּנְחָה וּלְמַעְלָה — הֲרֵי זוֹ בְּחֶזְקַת טְמֵאָה, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: אֲפִילּוּ בִּשְׁנַיִם לְנִדָּתָהּ בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְהוֹרָה, וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת לֹא הִפְרִישָׁה, וּלְאַחַר זְמַן בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְמֵאָה — הֲרֵי זוֹ בְּחֶזְקַת טְהוֹרָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And Rabbi Yehuda says:** With regard to **any** woman **who did not** perform the examination marking her **transition** from ritual impurity to ritual purity on the seventh day **from *minḥa*** time **onward,** even if she performed an examination and found no blood that morning, **the presumptive status of that** woman is one of **ritual impurity. And the Rabbis say: Even** if **on the second** day **of her menstruation she performed the examination and found** that **she is ritually pure, and** she **did not** perform the examination marking her **transition** from ritual impurity to ritual purity on the seventh day **during twilight, and after** several **days she examined** herself **and found** that **she is ritually impure, the presumptive status of that** woman is one of **ritual purity** from the time of her immersion until her examination.


###### Niddah 68a:11
[Niddah 68a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:11)

**גְּמָ'** אִיתְּמַר: רַב אָמַר: זָבָה וַדַּאי, וְלֵוִי אָמַר: זָבָה סָפֵק.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The Gemara cites a dispute between *amora’im* with regard to a case where a woman did not perform an examination indicating her transition from ritual impurity to ritual purity, and three days passed in which it is possible that she received the status of a *zava*, and then she found that she was ritually impure. It **was stated** that **Rav says:** This woman is **a definite** greater ***zava*. And Levi says:** She is **an uncertain** greater ***zava*.**


###### Niddah 68a:12
[Niddah 68a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:12)

אַהֵיָיא? אִילֵּימָא אַרֵישָׁא — ״הֲרֵי זוֹ בְּחֶזְקַת טְהוֹרָה״ קָתָנֵי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **To which** clause of the mishna does this dispute apply? **If we say** that Rav and Levi are referring **to the first clause,** i.e., a woman who examined herself on the morning of the seventh day and found herself to be ritually pure, but she did not examine herself at twilight, and several days later she examined herself and found herself to be impure, this cannot be correct, as the mishna **teaches: The presumptive status of that woman** is one of **ritual purity.** She is not a *zava* at all.


###### Niddah 68a:13
[Niddah 68a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:13)

אֶלָּא אַסֵּיפָא, בִּשְׁלָמָא סְפֵק זָבָה אָמְרִינַן, אֶלָּא זָבָה וַדַּאי נָמֵי? הֲרֵי בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְהוֹרָה!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather,** say that they are referring **to the latter clause** of the mishna, when she examined herself on the morning of the seventh day and found herself to be ritually impure. If so, **granted** Levi’s opinion is reasonable, as **we say** that this woman is **an uncertain** greater ***zava*. But** how can one explain Rav’s opinion that she is **even a definite** greater ***zava*?** After all, **she examined** herself **and found** that **she is ritually pure.** If so, how can she be a definite *zava*?


###### Niddah 68a:14
[Niddah 68a:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:14)

אֶלָּא, כִּי אִיתְּמַר דְּרַב וְלֵוִי — שְׁמַעְתָּא בְּאַפֵּי נַפְשַׁהּ אִיתְּמַר: נִדָּה שֶׁבָּדְקָה עַצְמָהּ בְּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁחֲרִית וּמָצְאָה טְמֵאָה, וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת לֹא הִפְרִישָׁה, וּלְאַחַר יָמִים בָּדְקָה וּמָצְאָה טְמֵאָה — רַב אָמַר: זָבָה וַדַּאי, וְלֵוִי אָמַר: זָבָה סָפֵק.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, when** the dispute **of Rav and Levi was stated,** it **was stated** as **a distinct *halakha*** unrelated to the mishna, as follows: With regard to **a menstruating woman who examined herself on the seventh day** in **the morning and found** that she was **ritually impure, and** at **twilight** of the seventh day she **did not** perform an examination to confirm her **transition** from ritual impurity to ritual purity, **and after** several **days she examined** herself **and found** that **she is ritually impure, Rav says:** This woman is **a definite** greater ***zava*. And Levi says:** She is **an uncertain** greater ***zava*.**


###### Niddah 68a:15
[Niddah 68a:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Niddah/r/68a:15)

רַב אָמַר: זָבָה וַדַּאי, כֵּיוָן דְּמֵעִיקָּרָא נִמְצֵאת טְמֵאָה, וְעַכְשָׁיו נִמְצֵאת טְמֵאָה — טְמֵאָה וַדַּאי. וְלֵוִי אָמַר: סְפֵק זָבָה, אֵימַר פְּסַקָה בֵּינֵי וּבֵינֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains their opinions. **Rav says:** This woman is **a definite** greater ***zava*, since from the outset she found** herself to be **ritually impure, and now she found** herself to also be **ritually impure.** Consequently, she is **definitely impure. And Levi says:** This woman is **an uncertain** greater ***zava*,** as one can **say** that perhaps **she stopped** experiencing bleeding **in between** the morning of her seventh day of menstruation when she first found herself to be impure and several days later, on the second occasion that she found herself to be impure.