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ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS

prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem

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Nidah 32

Questions

1)

(a) Rebbi Meir concedes that, we do not follow the minority when it is very small ('a Mi'uta de'Mi'uta').

(b) No! Tum'as Chutz la'Aretz only applies to the categories of Tum'ah which come from a person's body, but not to those which one contracts through physical contact.

(c) Rav Yosef required the baby girl to Tovel, not in order to eat Terumah, but in order to be anointed with it, since we rule 'Sichah ki'Shesiyah'- anointing (as far as Terumah is concerned) is like drinking.

(d) "ve'Lo Yechalalu es Kodshei Benei Yisrael" - is a warning to guard Terumah against Tum'ah; and "Asher Yarimu la'Hashem" is superfluous, to teach us that anointing is like drinking (since we already know that drinking is like eating).

2) Ordinary Jews conform with the Derashah of "ve'Ishah", from which we derived earlier that a woman is Temeiah Nidah the moment that she is born, so it is not necessary to treat the babies of ordinary Jews as Nidos from birth.
It is only the daughters of the Kutim where this is necessary, because they do not adhere to the Derashos of Chazal, and that includes "ve'Ishah".

3)

(a) The minimum age of Bi'ah for a girl is three, but Nidus from the moment they are born.

(b) The 'Vav' of "ve'Ishah" comes to include a baby of even one day, since where is three years hinted there? Consequently, the three years regarding the age of Bi'ah can only be an Asmachta, not really learnt from that Pasuk, as the Gemara originally thought.

(c) No! the three years of Bi'ah for a girl are not mi'de'Rabbanan (although that is what is normally implied by 'Asmachta'). But not here, since they are actually from a 'Halachah le'Moshe mi'Sinai'.

4)
(a) We now learn from "ve'Ishah" (in Pasuk 18) to preclude a man from becoming Tamei when he sees red (in other words, seeing red is a Tum'ah confined to women).

(b) A girl of less than ten days old cannot become a Zavah, since she first has to have been a Nidah (seven days), after which she only becomes a Zavah after seeing blood for three consecutive days.

(c) We cannot learn that a baby is Metamei Zivus after it is born from Nidus, because Nidus has a stringency, that does not pertain to Zivus; namely, that a Nidah is Tamei for seven days the first time she sees, whereas a Zavah, only from the third time.

32b---------------------------------------32b

Questions

5)

(a) Once we know that a baby girl can become a Zavah just after she is born, it follows immediately that she can also become a Nidah. Why? Because a Zavah only becomes a Zavah after she has been a Nidah, as we explained earlier.

(b) From the superfluous 'Vav' of "ve'Ishah", we again preclude a man from becoming Tamei when he sees Odem.

(c) From the one Pasuk we exclude blood, and from the other, red Keri.

6)
(a) Rebbi Yehudah learns from "Ish, Ish" that a baby boy is Metamei be'Zivus the moment he is born.

(b) As we said earlier by a girl, that the Bi'ah of a nine-year old boy is considered a Bi'ah, is Halachah le'Moshe mi'Sinai - the Pasuk is no more than an Asmachta.

(c) From the 'Vav' of "ve'Ish", we preclude a woman from Tum'ah if she sees Loven (Keri).

(d) Rebbi Yishmael Be'no shel Rebbi Yochanan ben Berokah learns from "la'Zachar ve'La'Nekeivah" that a boy and a girl respectively, are subject to Zivus from the day they are born.
From "Ish Ish" he derives nothing, because, he maintains, Dibrah Torah ki'Leshon Benei Adam.

7) We need independent Derashos to teach us that Tum'as Zivah applies to a baby boy, and that Nidus and Zivus apply to a baby girl. We cannot learn one from the other, because each one has a Chumra over the other: We could not learn a girl from a boy, because a man becomes a Zav whenever he sees three time, even within three days, whereas a woman only becomes a Zavah if she sees on three consecutive days.
Nor can we learn a boy from a girl, because women are Metam'ah even be'Ones (due to something that they did), whereas a man is not.

8)

(a) We would not require a Mishnah to tell us that what is underneath a Bo'eil Nidah - even ten sheets - becomes Tamei. That is obvious, since whatever a Zav leans his weight on, is Tamei Medras.

(b) 'Tachton ke'Elyon' therefore has to mean that what is underneath a Bo'eil Nidah' has the same Din as what is on top of a Zav - i.e. to be Metamei only food and drink, but not people and vessels.

(c) We learn this out from the Pasuk "ve'Chol ha'Nogei'a be'Chol Asher Yihye Tachtav, Yitma".
In fact, we invert the Pasuk to read "ha'Nogei'a be'Chol Asher Yihye (ha'Zav) Tachtav" ('whatever the Zav is under', instead of 'whatever is under the Zav'). The Torah has removed the covers of a Zav from the regular stringencies of Zivus, to be Metamei food and drink, but not people and vessels.

(d) The word "Yitma" implies a very light Tum'ah, so we take the leniency to its extreme.

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