meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt_done/Mishnah/Seder Tahorot/Mishnah Zavim/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Mishnah Zavim
  משנה זבים
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Mishnah Zavim
  
  
  
  
  
  One who has seen one abnormal genital discharge, Beit Shammai say, he is like a [woman] who observes [for emissions] a day against a day [whatever he lies or sits on becomes unclean]. Beit Hillel say he is like a <i> ba'al keri</i> [one who had an emission of semen whether by nocturnal emission or by sexual activity; whatever he lies or sits on does not become unclean].  If he saw [a discharge] one day and on the second day it stopped and then on the third day saw two [discharges] or one [discharge] as profuse as two, Beit Shammai say he is a full fledged <i>zav</i> [a male who has seen the discharge which renders him unclean]. Beit Hillel say, he renders unclean those item he sits or lies upon  and he requires immersion in running water but he does not have to bring a sacrifice.  Rabbi Elazar the son of Yehuda said, Beit Shammai agree in this case that he is not a full fledged <i>zav</i>, rather they disagree in a case where [on the first day] he sees two [discharges] or one [discharge] as profuse [the volume] as two , and on the second day it stopped and then on the third day [he once again] had one discharge, [in this case] Beit Shammai say he is a full fledged <i>zav</i> and Beit Hillel say,  he renders unclean those items he sits or lies upon and he requires immersion in running water but he does not have to bring a sacrifice.
  One who sees a <i>keri</i> [seminal discharge] on the third day of counting after after his abnormal genital discharge, Beit Shammai say, it voids the two [clean] days that preceded it [and he must start counting again], Beit Hillel say it only voids that day [and he can continue his count  the next day]. Rabbi Yishmael says, If he saw it on the second day it voids the preceding day. Rabbi Akiva says, it makes no difference if he saw it on the second day or third day, [in either case] Beit Shammai say it voids the two preceding days, and Beit Hillel say it only voids that day. They agree, however, that if he saw it on the fourth day [of his counting]  it only voids that day [provided that what] he saw was a seminal emission.  If, however, if he saw an abnormal seminal discharge emission, even on the seventh day, it voids [all] previous days.
  If he saw one discharge [of <i>zivah</i> today and two tomorrow, or two today and one tomorrow, or three on three days or three nights he is a full fledged <i>zav</i>. 
  If he saw one [discharge of <i>zivah</i>] and it stopped long enough for him to immerse himself [in a mikveh] and dry himself, and then he saw two [discharges] or one [discharge] as profuse as two, or if he saw two [discharges] or one [discharge] as profuse as two, and it stopped long enough for him to immerse himself [in a mikveh] and dry himself, and then he saw one [discharge] he is a full fledged <i>zav</i>.
  If he saw one [discharge] as profuse as three [discharges] lasting as long as it takes to walk] from Gad Yavan to Shiloach, [an interval] which would be sufficient for two immersions [in the mikveh] and two dryings, he is a full fledged <i>zav</i>. If he saw one [discharge] as profuse as two,  he renders unclean anything he sits in on or lies upon and he requires immersion in running water but he does not have to bring a sacrifice. Rabbi Yose said, They did not speak of one [discharge] which was profuse [enough to make him a full fledged <i>zav</i>], unless there was enough [volume] to equal three.
  If he saw  one [discharge] during the day and one at twilight, [or] one at twilight and one the next day, if it is known that part of the sighting [the discharge at twilight occurred] during the day and part was the next day,  he is certain with regard to a sacrifice [that he must bring one as a <i>zav</i>] and with regard to uncleanliness [he is unclean]. If is was doubtful if part of the sighting was today and part was the next day, there is no doubt regarding his uncleanliness, but there is doubt regarding his sacrifice. If he saw [discharges] on two [consecutive] days at twilight, there is  doubt  regarding his uncleanliness and his sacrifice. If he saw one [discharge] at twilight, there is a doubt  regarding his uncleanliness.
  
  
  
  All [persons] are made unclean through a <i>zivah</i> discharge, even converts, even slaves, whether they are emancipated or not emancipated, a deaf-mute, a <i>shoteh</i>, a minor, a eunuch [whether rendered impotent] by man or a eunuch from the time of seeing the sun [from birth]. [With regard to] a <i>tumtum</i> [person (or animal) with recessed sexual organs whose gender is therefore impossible to determine, presently, by external examination. It is halachically uncertain whether such is male or female], or an <i>androginos</i> [person (or animal) with both male and female sexual organs. It is halachically uncertain whether such is male, female or, perhaps, has a uniquely defined halachic gender], we impose upon them the stringencies of the man and the stringencies of a woman; they render unclean through [menstruation] blood like a woman and through egglike substance [semen] like a man, but their uncleanliness remains in doubt.
  There are seven ways a <i>zav</i> is examined [for the cause of his discharge], providing he has not entered the bounds of <i>zivah</i> [it is not established that he is a <i>zav</i>. He is examined if the discarge is not the result of an external cause and thus regular semen]; with regard to food [that he has eaten], drink, [that he has drunk], a load [he may have  carried], a jump [he may have made], sickness [he may have suffered] , [an improper] sight [he may have seen] or [impure] thoughts [he may have had], whether  he had impure thoughts before seeing [a woman] or he saw [ woman] before he had the impure thoughts [the emission caused by all of the above is considered a normal emission and he does not become a <i>zav</i>]. Rabbi Yehuda says [adds], Even if he saw cattle, wild animals or birds copulating with each other, [and] even if he saw the colored garments of a woman [the emission does not render him a <i>zav</i>]. Rabbi Akiva says, even if he ate any kind of food, whether bad or good or he drank any kind of drink  [the emission does not render him a <i>zav</i>]. They [the sages] said to him, [according to you] there will never be <i>zavim</i>. He [Rabbi Akiva] responded to them, The responsibility of [the existence of] <i>zavim</i> is not upon you. [However] once he has entered the bounds of <i>zivah</i> [once it is established that he is a <i>zav</i>], we no longer examine him. [Discharges resulting from] an accident or a doubtful [discharge] and seminal emissions are [considered] unclean because there is an established likelihood [that there was an impure discharge]. [When] he sees the first discharge he is examined [for the seven things]. [When he sees] the second discharge he is examined [for the seven things].  [When he sees] the third discharge, we no longer examine him. Rabbi Eliezer says, Even at the third [incident] we examine him because [of the need to know if he is obligated to bring] a sacrifice.
  If one sees a seminal emission [followed by a second emission], he does not convey uncleanliness by way of <i>zivah</i> for a twenty four hour period [starting from the time of the sighting]. Rabbi Yose says, [only] that day. A non-Jew who saw a seminal emission and converted, he is immediately unclean by way of <i>zivah</i>. If one [a woman] saw [menstrual] blood or had difficulty [in labor], [the time prescribed for retroactively making things that she touched unclean] is a twenty four hour period. One who strikes his slave, the 'day or two' [that the Torah (Exodus 21:21) speaks of] is a twenty four hour period. If a dog ate the flesh of a [human] corpse, [the flesh remains] in its natural state for three days [twenty four hour periods].
   A <i>zav</i> makes things which he lies upon unclean in five ways rendering people unclean and clothing unclean. [They are] by standing, sitting, lying, balancing [a hanging object] and by leaning. [The item he] lies upon makes a person unclean seven ways rendering clothing unclean. [They are] by standing, sitting, lying,  balancing [a hanging object], leaning, touching and carrying.
  
  
  
  [If] a <i>zav</i> and a clean person sat together on a boat or on a raft or they are riding on an animal, even though their clothing do not touch, they are unclean due to  [uncleanliness called] <i>midras</i> [treading contact]. [If] they sat on a plank, a bench, a bed frame or a beam that are  insecure, [or] if they [both] climbed up a tree that is weak, or [they were] on a weak branch in a strong tree, [or they were climbing] an Egyptian ladder that was not securely [to a wall] with a nail, [or they sat together] on a bridge, a rafter or on a door that was not made [secured] with clay, they are unclean. Rabbi Yehuda says they are clean. 
  [If a <i>zav</i> and a clean person] close or open [a door together, the clean person and his clothes are unclean], [but] the Sages say, [he does not become unclean unless]  one is closing [the door] and one is opening [the door]. If one was raising the other from a pit [the clean person and his clothes are unclean]. Rabbi Yehuda says, only if the clean one is the one raising the unclean one. [If  they were] twisting ropes together [the clean person and his clothes are unclean], [but] the Sages say, only when  one is pulling in one direction and the other is pulling in the opposite direction. [If they were] weaving [together], whether standing or sitting, or they are grinding [wheat, the clean person and his clothes are unclean]. Rabbi Shimon [says that in all the cases] the clean man remains clean, unless they were grinding with a hand mill. [If they were] unloading a donkey or loading it, if the load is heavy, they are unclean, if the load is light, they are clean. In both cases [whether the load is light or heavy] they are clean to join members of the synagogue [who eat <i>chullin</i> in purity] but are [considered] unclean [if he is a <i>kohen</i>] to eat <i>terumah</i> [a portion of a crop given to a <i>kohen</i> which becomes holy upon separation, and can only be consumed by the <i>kohen</i> or his household].
  [If] a Zav and a clean person sat [together] on a big boat, [but] what is a big boat? Rabbi Yehuda says, One that does not sway with a man's weight, [or if] they sat on a plank, bench or bed frame or a beam when they  are firmly secure, [or] they went up into a tree that is strong, or in a branch that is strong [or they they were climbing] on a Tyrian ladder or an Egyptian [ladder] that was secured [to a wall] with a nail, [or] on a ramp or a rafter or on a door when clay was used [to secure them in the ground], even [only] on one side, they are clean. A clean person that hit an unclean person [he remains] clean. [If] an unclean person hits a clean person, [the clean person] becomes unclean,  because if the clean person draws [back, as he is being hit], the unclean person would surely fall,  thus it is as if the <i>zav</i> had actually leaned on the clean person and that renders him unclean].
  
  
  
  Rabbi Yehoshua says, [If] a <i>niddah</i> [a menstruant woman] sat with a clean woman on a bed, [even] the cap on her [the clean woman's] head are unclean due to  [uncleanliness called] <i>midras</i> [treading contact]. [If] she [the menstruant woman] sat in a boat, [even] the vessels that are on top of the mast are unclean due to <i>midras</i>. [If] she took a tub of clothes, if their weight was heavy, they are unclean, [If] their weight was light, they are clean. [If] a <i>zav </i> knocks against a balcony, and [as a result] a loaf of <i>terumah</i>  falls, it remains clean.
  [If a <i>zav </i>] knocked [against] a joist, a rafter frame, a [water] pipe,  a shelf, although it is secured [only] with ropes [not with nails],  an oven, a flour receiver [to collect the flour after it is ground], a lower mill-stone,  the [wooden] base of a of a hand mill, the <i> se'ah</i> [a specific unit of volume] measure of an olive grinder [fixed to the ground], Rabbi Yose says, also [if he knocks] into the bath attendant's board, it [remains] clean.
  [If a <i>zav </i>] knocked against a door, a door-bolt, a lock, an oar, a mill-stone frame, a weak tree, a weak branch of a strong tree, on an Egyptian ladder that was not secured [to a wall] with a nail, [or they sat together] on a bridge, a rafter, on a door that was not made [secured] with clay, they are unclean. [If a <i>zav </i> knocked] on a chest, a box, a cupboard they are unclean. Rabbi Nechemia and Rabbi Shimon render them [the latter three case] clean. 
  [If] a <i>zav </i> was lying on five benches or five money-bags, [if he was lying on them] lengthwise they are unclean, [if he was lying on them] breadthwise they are clean. [If] he slept [on them across their width and] there is doubt whether he turned over on them [along their length], they are unclean. If he was lying on six seats, [with] his two hands on two [seats], his two  feet on two [seats], his head on one [seat], [and] his body on one [seat], only the one [seat] that was under his body is unclean. If he sood on two seats, Rabbi Shimon says, if they were distant from each other, they are clean.
  Ten cloaks [piled] one on top of the other, [if a <i>zav </i>] slept on the top one, they are all unclean. [If] a <i>zav </i> was on one pan of a balance and [objects fit to] lie or sit on, were on the opposite side [pan], if the <i>zav </i> weighed down  [his pan, thus pushing the objects up], they are clean. If it objects weighed down [pushing the <i>zav </i> up] they are unclean. Rabbi Shimon says, [if there was] a single [object to sit or lie on] it is unclean, [but] if there were many, they are clean, since none of them have supported the greater part [of the weight of the <i>zav </i>].
  [If] a <i>zav </i> was on one pan a balance and food or liquid in the second pan, they are unclean. [In the case of] a corpse, everything [in the other pan] are clean except for a man [if a man is in the other pan and his pan went down and the corpse was raised]. This [is a case of] greater stringency applied to a <i>zav </i> than to a corpse, [but there is another case of] greater stringency applied to a corpse than to a <i>zav </i>.  For a <i>zav </i> renders unclean by lying or sitting anything that is under him , to convey uncleanliness to people and garments,  and [imparts into] whatever is above him <i>madaf</i> uncleanliness [uncleanliness arising from the unclean person's indirect contact], so that they render food and liquids unclean, [whereas] a corpse does not render them unclean. Greater stringency is found by a corpse, for the corpse  conveys uncleanliness  by overshadowing and imparts uncleanliness for seven days, which is not the case by a  <i>zav </i>.
  If he [a <i>zav </i>] sat on a bed and there were four cloaks under the four legs of the bed, they are unclean, because [the bed] cannot stand on three [legs]. Rabbi Shimon renders them clean. If he [a <i>zav </i>] was riding on an animal and there were four cloaks under the four legs of the animal, they are clean, because [the animal] can stand on three [legs]. [If] there was one garment under its two forelegs [or] under its two hindlegs, [or] under a foreleg and a hind leg it is unclean. Rabbi Yose says, A horse imparts uncleanliness through its hind legs and the donkey through its forelegs, for a horse leans on it hind legs and a donkey leans on its forelegs. If he [a <i>zav </i>]  sat on the beam of an olive press, the utensils in the rope-basket [where the olives are kept during the pressing process] are unclean. If he [a <i>zav </i> sat] on the laundryman's clothing- press, the utensils beneath them  are clean. Rabbi Nechemia renders them unclean.
  
  
  
  If one [who is clean] touches a <i>zav</i> or if a <i>zav</i>  touches him, [or] if one moves a  <i>zav</i>, or if a  <i>zav</i>  moves him, he renders unclean food, drink and utensils that can be rinsed [immersed in a mikva and thereby made clean] through touch, but not through carryinng. Rabbi Yehoshua stated [the following]  general principle,  Anyone that renders garments unclean while in contact [with the source of his uncleanliness], renders unclean food and liquids to become a first level uncleanliness and the hands to become a second level of uncleanliness, and does not render unclean people or earthenware vessels. After he has separated from the source of his uncleanliness, he renders unclean  liquids to become a first level uncleanliness, and food and hands to become a second level of uncleanliness, and he does nor tender garments unclean.
  Another general rule they  said, Anything that is carried above a <i>zav</i> [even though there is no contact] becomes unclean and all things above which he [the <i>zav</i>] is carried is clean except objects on which he can sit or lie upon and a person. How so [does this law apply]? [If] the finger of a <i>zav</i> was under a layer of stones and one [a person] that is clean is [sitting] above, he renders unclean at two [levels] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more].  If he separated himself [from the source of unclenaliness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. If the unclean one was above, and the clean one below, he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more]. If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. [If] food, liquids or objects on which he can sit or lie upon or <i>madaf</i> [other articles] were above [the <i>zav</i>], he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more]. If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. If objects on which he can sit or lie upon were below [the <i>zav</i>],  he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more].  If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at two [levels] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more].   If food, liquids and a <i>madaf</i> are below they are clean.
  [The reason for the previous law] is because, whatever carries or is carried by items which one can lie upon is clean except a person. Whatever carries or is carried by a corpse of an animal is clean, except for one that moves it. Rabbi Eliezer says, also one that carries it. Whatever carries or is carried upon by a [human] corpse is clean except for the one that overshadows it, or a person when he moves it. 
  [If] part of an unclean person [<i>zav</i>] is on a clean person or part of a clean person is on an unclean person, [or if] things that are connected [such as teeth, hair or nails] of the unclean person are on a clean person, or the things that are connected to a clean person are on an unclean person, they are unclean. Rabbi Shimon says, [If] part of an unclean person is on a clean person, he is unclean, [but if] part of a clean person is on an unclean person, he is clean.
  [If] an unclean person rests on part of an object fit to lie upon  [or if] a clean person rests on part of an object fit to lie upon it becomes unclean. If part of an unclean person rests on an object fit to lie upon, or part of a clean person rests upon an object fit to lie upon, it is clean. Thus we find that uncleanliness can be contracted and communicated by its lesser part. Similarly, if a loaf [of bread] of <i>teruma</i> [a portion of a crop given to a <i>kohen</i>],  was placed upon an object fit to lie upon [that was unclean]  and there is paper between them, whether [the loaf] is on top or it is on the bottom it is clean. Similarly [if ] there was a stone with diseased patches on it that render it unclean, [either on top or below the loaf of bread separated by a piece of paper] it is clean. Rabbi Shimon declared that in such a case it is unclean.
  One who touches a <i>zav</i> [or] a <i>zava</i> [a woman with a discharge] [or] a <i>niddah</i> [menstruating woman] or a woman who has recently given birth, or a <i>metzora</i> [a person suffering form an unsightly skin disease], or any object on which these have been sitting or lying, they render unclean at two [levels] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. [The law applies] whether one touched, moved, carried or was carried.
  One who touches the discharge of a <i>zav</i>,  his spittle, his semen, his urine, or the blood of a menstruant, he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more].  If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. [The law is the same] whether one touched [it] or moved [it]. Rabbi Eliezer says, even if he carried [it]. 
  If one [a clean person] carries something which was ridden upon [i.e. a saddle] or if he was carried on it, or if he moved it, he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more].  If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more]. If one carried the corpse of an animal or the water [mixed with the ashes] of [the red heifer] sin offering of which there was sufficient for a sprinkling [because ashes of a red cow are mixed in] of an amount that can be sprinkled, he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more].  If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more].
  If one ate the carcass of a clean [kosher] bird and it is [still] in his gullet, he renders unclean at two [levels], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more]. [If] he stuck his head into the air-space of an oven [while the carcass it still in his gullet], it is clean [redundant words] and the oven is clean. [If] he spit it out or swallowed it, he renders unclean at one [level], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more]. But as long as it  is [still] in his mouth until he swallows it, he is clean.
  One who touches a [dead] <i>sheretz</i> [ a creeping animal], or semen or has acquired corpse uncleanliness or a leper during his days of counting or the water [mixed with the ashes] of [the red heifer] sin offering of which there was insufficient for a sprinkling or the carcass of an animal or an object ridden upon, he renders unclean at one [level], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more]. This is the general principle, anyone who touches anything that according to the Torah is of primary uncleanliness  renders unclean at one [level], and disqualifies [terumah] at one [level more], except [the corpse] of a human. If he separated himself [from the source of uncleanness], he renders unclean at one [level] and renders unfit [terumah] at one [level more].
  A <i>ba'al keri</i> [one who had a nocturnal seminal emission] is [unclean] like one who touched a <i>sheretz</i> [he does not become a father of uncleanness]. One who has sexual relaions with a menstruant is [unclean] like one who has corpse uncleanliness [and is a father of uncleanness]. However, the one who had sexual relaions with a menstruant is more stringent, because he conveys minor grades of uncleanliness to what he lies or sits on, so as to make foods and liquids unclean.  
  The following invalidate <i>teruma</i>, one who eats food of the first degree [of uncleanliness]  one who eats food of the second degree [of uncleanliness], one who drinks unclean liquids, one immerses [ritually] his head and the greater part [of his body]  in water drawn, a clean person upon whose head and greater part of his body fell  three <i>log</i> [measure of volume] of drawn water [for until he has obtained complete immersion his touch invalidates terumah], or a scroll [of scriptures], [unwashed] hands, a <i>tevul yom</i> [one who has immersed in a <i>mikvah</i> but must  wait until sunset to be rendered clean], food or vessels that became unclean by liquids.