meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt_done/Mishnah/Seder Tahorot/Mishnah Negaim/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Mishnah Negaim
  משנה נגעים
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Mishnah Negaim
  
  
  
  
  
  The appearances of <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity] are two which are four: <i>Baheret</i> is bright [white] like snow, its subsidiary is like the lime of the Temple. <i>Se'et</i> is like the membrane of an egg, its subsidiary is like white wool; the words of Rabbi Meir. The Sages say, <i>Se'et</i> is like white wool, its subsidiary is like the membrane of an egg.
  The <i>Patukh</i> [red-tinge] in the snow [white patch] is like wine poured into snow. The <i>Patukh</i> in the lime [patch] is like blood poured into milk. These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: The ruddiness of this [one] and that [one] is like wine poured into water, except that of the snow [patch] is brighter and that of the lime is duller than it. 
  These four appearances [of <i>Negaim</i>] combine, one with the other, to exempt [one from impurity], to decide [that one is impure], or to quarantine [one of uncertain status]. [They combine] to quarantine that which remains [unchanged] at the end of the first week [from reporting the <i>Nega</i>]. [They combine] to exempt that which remains [unchanged] at the end of the second week. [They combine] to decide that which develops healthy skin [in the area of the <i>Nega</i>] or white hair, [whether] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, [or] after the exemption. [They combine] to decide that which develops spreading, [whether] at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, [or] after the exemption. [They combine] to decide that which turns completely white, [coming] from [the state of] exemption. [They combine] to exempt one who turns completely white, [coming] from [the state of] the decision [that he was impure] or from quarantine. These are the appearances of <i>Negaim</i> which all <i>Negaim</i> are based upon. 
  Rabbi Chanania the vice of the priests says: The appearances of <i>Negaim</i> are sixteen. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas says: The appearances of <i>Negaim</i> are thirty-six. Akavia ben Mahalalel says: seventy-two. Rabbi Chanania the vice of the priests says: One may not examine the <i>Negaim</i> initially after Shabbat [in order to diagnose them] because then [the end of] his week [of impurity] will fall on Shabbat. And not on the second day [of the week] because then [the end of] his second week will fall on Shabbat. And not on the third day [of the week] for the case of [the <i>Nega</i> afflicting] houses, because then [the end of] its third week will fall on Shabbat. Rabbi Akiva says: One always examines. If [the end of the week] fell out on Shabbat, they would push off [the examination] until after Shabbat. And this matter has both leniency and stringency.  
  How [is waiting until after Shabbat considered] a leniency? [If] he had in [the <i>Nega</i>] white hair [on Shabbat] and [after Shabbat] the white hair disappeared from it, [or if] if there were white [hairs] and they blackened, [or if there were] one white and one black, and the two of them blackened, [or if the hairs were] long and they were shortened, [or if there were] one long and one short, and the two of them were shortened, [or if] a boil encroached upon the two of them or upon one of them, [or if] a boil surrounded the two of them or one of them, or divided them - [this refers to] a boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i> [very white blemish]. [Other cases of leniency include if the skin] had a healed part and then the healed part went away, [or if the area of the <i>Nega</i>] was square and became circular or stretched, [or if a healed part of skin] was surrounded [by a <i>Nega</i>] and then [the <i>Nega</i>] moved to the side, [or if the healed part of skin] was concentrated and then became scattered, [or if] a boil came and went into [the healed part of the skin], surrounded it, split it, or diminished it - [this refers to] a boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i>. [Other cases of leniency include if the <i>Nega</i>] had an extension and then the extension went away, or if the original [<i>Nega</i>] went away, or it decreased [so that] there was not between this one and that one [i.e. between the original and the extension] an [area of] a bean, [or if a] boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i> separate between the original and its expansion. These are [cases in which waiting until after Shabbat is considered a] leniency.
  How [is waiting until after Shabbat considered] a stringency? [If] he did not have in [the <i>Nega</i>] white hair [on Shabbat] and [after Shabbat] white hair grew in it, [or if] there were black [hairs] and they whitened, [or if] one was black and one was white and the two of them whitened, [or if the hairs were] short and they were lengthened, [or if there were] one long and one short, and the two of them were lengthened, [or if on Shabbat] a boil encroached upon the two of them or upon one of them, [or if] a boil surrounded the two of them or one of them, or divided them - [this refers to] a boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i> - and went away [after Shabbat]. [Other cases of leniency include if the skin] did not have a healed part and then grew a healed part, [or if the area of the <i>Nega</i>] was circular or stretched and became square, [or if a healed part of skin] had from the side [a <i>Nega</i>] and then became surrounded, [or if the healed part of skin] was scattered and then became concentrated, [or if] a boil came and went into [the healed part of the skin], surrounded it, split it, or diminished it - [this refers to] a boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i> - and went away [after Shabbat], [or if the <i>Nega</i>] did not have an extension and then grew an extension, [or if a] boil, a partly-healed boil, a burn, a partly-healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i> separate between the original and its expansion and went away [after Shabbat]. These are [cases in which waiting until after Shabbat is considered a] stringency.
  
  
  
  A bright <i>Baheret</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] looks dull on a light-skinned person [lit. German] and a dull one looks bright on a dark-skinned person [lit. Ethiopian]. Rabbi Yishmael says: Bnei Yisrael, may I be their atonement, behold they are like box-wood, not black and not white, but intermediate. Rabbi Akiva says: Painters have pigments with which they paint forms black or white or intermediate. One brings an intermediate pigment and surrounds it [the <i>Nega</i>] from outside,  and it will appear in the intermediate. Rabbi Yehudah says: The appearances of <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity, should be decided] for leniency [when in doubt] but not for stringency: he [the examining priest] should look at the light-skinned person in [comparison with] his skin for leniency and the dark-skinned person in [comparison with] intermediate [dye] for leniency. The Sages say: Both this and this [case should be looked at in comparison with] intermediate [dye].
  One may not examine <i>Negaim</i> [to check them] in the morning or towards evening, and not inside the house and not on the cloudy day, because the dull [<i>Nega</i>] seems bright [in these circumstances]. And [one may not examine] at noon, because the bright [<i>Nega</i>] seems dull. When does one examine? During the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth [hours of the day]. These are the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehudah says: During the fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth.
  A priest who is blind in one of his eyes, or whose brightness of vision dulled, may not examine the <i>Negaim</i>, as it says (Leviticus 13:12) "According to all that appears to the eyes of the priest." [When examining] a dark house, one does not open windows in it to [better] examine its <i>Nega</i>. 
  How is the <i>Nega</i> displayed [during the examination]? The man is displayed as if he were hoeing or picking olives. A woman [is displayed] as if she were kneading dough or nursing her child, [or] like a weaver who stands [and displays] her armpit on her right arm [while weaving]. Rabbi Yehudah says: Even as if she were spinning fax by her left hand. In the way that he is displayed for [the examination of] his <i>Nega</i>, thus is he displayed for his shaving [after completing his purification process].  
  A man can examine all <i>Negaim</i> except for his own <i>Negaim</i>. Rabbi Meir says: Even not the <i>Negaim</i> of his relatives. A man may revoke all vows except for his own vows. Rabbi Yehudah says: Even not the vows of his wife that are between her and others. A man may examine all first-born [animals to see if they have a blemish that would invalidate them as sacrifices] except for his own first-born.
  
  
  
  Everyone is made impure by <i>Negaim</i> except for the non-Jews and a <i>Ger Toshav</i> [resident non-Jew who accepted the seven Noahide laws]. Everyone is valid for examining <i>Negaim</i>, except that the impurity and the purity [of the examined person] is in the hands of a priest. They say to him [i.e. the priest], "Say [he is] impure," and he says, "Impure." [They say to him], "Say [he is] pure," and he says, "Pure." One may not examine two <i>Negaim</i> at once, whether on one person or whether on two people, but one must examine the first and quarantine it and decide upon it [whether it is impure] and exempt it, and [then] return to the second. One does not quarantine someone who has already been quarantined [if a new <i>Nega</i> appeared] and one does not decide upon someone who has already been decided upon. One does not quarantine someone who has already been decided upon, and one do not decide upon someone who has already been quarantined. But in the beginning [or] at the end of the week [of quarantine or impurity], he who quarantines [for the first <i>Nega</i> may quarantine [for the second], and he who decides [for the first] may decide [for the second], quarantine [the first] and exempt [the second], decide upon [the first] and exempt [the second]. 
  A groom upon whom appears a <i>Nega</i>, we give him the seven days of feasting [before examining him]. [This applies] to him, to his house, or to his clothing. Also [if one got a <i>Nega</i>] during a pilgrimage festival, we give him all the days of the pilgrimage festival.
  Skin of the flesh [that has a <i>Nega</i>] is made impure after two weeks or through three signs: white hair, a healed patch [of skin], or expansion. Regarding white hair and a healed patch, [they cause impurity] initially, at the end of the first week [of quarantine], at the end of the second week, or after the exemption. Regarding expansion, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after the exemption. And it is made impure after two weeks, which are [actually] thirteen days. 
  [A <i>Nega</i> in the area of] a boil or a burn is made impure after a week or through two signs: white hair or expansion. Regarding white hair, [it causes impurity] initially, at the end of the week [of quarantine], or after the exemption. Regarding expansion, at the end of the week [or] after the exemption. And they are made impure after one week, which is seven days.
  Hairless patches are made impure after two weeks or through two signs: thin yellow hair or expansion. Regarding thin yellow hair, [it is made impure] initially, at the end of the first week [of quarantine], at the end of the second week [or] after the exemption. And regarding expansion, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week [or] after the exemption. And they are made impure after two weeks, which are [actually] thirteen days.
  Posterior baldness or frontal baldness are made impure after two weeks or through two signs: a healed patch [of skin], or expansion. Regarding a healed patch, [it is made impure] initially, after the first week [of quarantine], after the second week [or] after the exemption. And regarding expansion, after the first week, after the second week, [or] after the exemption. And they are made impure after two weeks [maximum], which are [actually] thirteen days.
  Clothing [that have <i>Negaim</i>] are made impure after two weeks or through three signs: deep green, deep red, or expansion. Regarding deep green and deep red, [they are made impure] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, [or] after the exemption. Regarding expansion, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, [or] after the exemption. And they are made impure after two weeks, which are [actually] thirteen days.
  Houses [that have <i>Negaim</i>] are made impure after three weeks or through three signs: deep green, deep red, or expansion. Regarding deep green and deep red, [they are made impure] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, at the end of the third week, [or] after the exemption. Regarding expansion, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, at the end of the third week, [or] after the exemption. And they are made impure after three weeks, which are [actually] nineteen days. There is no less than a week [of quarantine time] by <i>Negaim</i> and no more than three weeks. 
  
  
  
  There are [laws] that apply to white hair that do not apply to spreading, and there are [laws] that apply to spreading  that do not apply to white hairs. For white hair makes [the diseased patch] impure initially and makes it impure with any appearance of whiteness and has in it no [corresponding] sign of purity. There are [also unique laws] by spreading, for spreading makes it impure with any amount, and makes any <i>Nega</i> [diseased patch on skin, clothes, or houses that creates impurity] impure, [as well as if it spread] outside the <i>Nega</i>, which is not true by white hair.
  There are [laws] by a healthy patch of skin that spreading does not have, and there are [laws] by spreading that a healthy patch of skin does not have. For a healthy patch of skin makes [the <i>Nega</i>] impure initially, and makes impure with any appearance, and has in it no [corresponding] sign of purity. There are [also unique laws] by spreading, for spreading makes it impure with any amount, and makes any <i>Nega</i> impure, [as well as if it spread] outside the <i>Nega</i>, which is not true by a healthy patch of skin.
  There are [laws] by white hair that a healthy patch of skin does not have, and there are [laws] by a healthy patch of skin that white hair does not have. For white hair makes [the <i>Nega</i>] impure if it was in [the area of] a boil or burn, [if the hair was] concentrated or scattered, [if it was] surrounded [by the <i>Nega</i>] or not surrounded. There are [also unique laws] by a healthy patch of skin, for a healthy patch of skin makes a <i>Karachat</i> [<i>Nega</i> that balds the back of the head] or <i>Gabachat</i> [<i>Nega</i> that balds the top of the head], whether [the patch] was preexisting or not preexisting, and it prevents [purification of] someone who has turned completely white [by a <i>Nega</i>] and makes impure with any appearance, which is not true by white hair.
  Two hairs whose roots are black and tips are white are [still] pure. [Two hairs] whose roots are white and tips are black are impure. How much whiteness [is required]? Rabbi Meir says: Any amount. Rabbi Shimon says: [Enough] to be able to cut [them] with scissors. If [the hair] was one at the bottom but it split at the top and looks like two, it is [still] pure. A <i>Baheret</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] in which there is white hair or black hair is impure, [because] we do not worry lest the area of the black hair reduced the [total area of the] <i>Baheret</i> [and made it smaller than the minimum size] because it does not have significance.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean [which is the minimum size of a valid <i>Nega</i>] and a string [of expanded <i>Nega</i>] extends out of it, if it has the width of two hairs, it is obligated [in the laws of impurity] with regards to white hair [in it] and [further] expansion but not [regarding] a patch of healthy skin. Two <i>Baherot</i> and a narrow strip extend from one to the other, if it has the width of two hairs, he combines them [to form one <i>Nega</i>]. And if not, he does not combine them.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean in which there is a healthy patch of skin like [the size of] a lentil and there is white hair inside the patch, [if] the patch of healthy skin goes away, it is [still] impure because of the white hair. If the white hair goes away, it is [still] impure because of the patch of healthy skin. Rabbi Shimon calls it pure, because the <i>Baheret</i> has not changed it [into becoming white]. A <i>Baheret</i> [in which] it and its patch of healthy skin [together fill an area] like a bean, and there is white hair in the <i>Baheret</i>, [if] the healthy patch goes away, it is [still] impure because of the white hair. [If] the white hair disappears, it is [still] impure because of the healthy patch. Rabbi Shimon calls it pure, because the <i>Baheret</i> [that fills an area] like a bean has not changed it [into becoming white]. But [Rabbi Shimon] agrees that if the area of the white hair is like a bean, it is impure.  
  A <i>Baheret</i> in which there is a patch of healthy skin and an expansion, [if] the patch of healthy skin goes away, it is impure because of the expansion. If the expansion goes away, it is impure because of the patch of healthy skin. The same [applies] if it had white hair and an expansion. If [the <i>Nega</i>] goes away and comes back at the end of the week, it is treated as if it was [there the entire time]. [If it returned] after it was exempted, it should be seen as if it was the first [time]. If it was bright and became dull, [or] dull and it became bright, it is treated as if it was [there the entire time] as long as it does not become less than the four appearances [of a <i>Nega</i>]. If it contracted [during the quarantine time] and [then] expanded [before the priest called it impure], or expanded and [then] contracted, Rabbi Akiva calls it impure and the Sages call it pure. 
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean that expands [the size of another] half a bean but the original [<i>Nega</i> area] is diminished by half a bean, Rabbi Akiva says: It should be seen as if it was the first [time]. But the Sages call it pure. 
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean that expands [the size of another] half a bean and more but the original [<i>Nega</i> area] is diminished by half a bean, Rabbi Akiva calls it impure and the Sages call it pure. A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean that expands [the size of another] bean and more, but the original [<i>Nega</i> area] disappears, Rabbi Akiva calls it impure. But the Sages say: It should be seen as if it was the first [time].
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean that expands like a bean [and] the expansion develops a healthy patch of skin or white hair but the original <i>Nega</i> goes away from it, Rabbi Akiva calls it impure and the Sages say: It should be seen as if it was the first [time]. A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] half a bean and there is nothing in it, [if another] <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean develops and there is one white hair in it, behold this [person] must be quarantined. A <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean with one [white] hair in it, [if another] <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean with one hair develops, behold this [person] must be quarantined. A <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean with two [white] hairs in it, [if another] <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean with one hair develops, this [person] must be quarantined.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] half a bean with nothing in it, [if another] <i>Baheret</i> [the size of] half a bean develops with two [white] hairs in it, it is decided [that he is impure] because they [the Sages] said: If the <i>Baheret</i> preceded the white hairs, it is impure. But if the white hair preceded the <i>Baheret</i>, it is [still] pure. If [a case is] unclear, it is impure. But Rabbi Yehoshua declared [the matter] unsolvable.
  
  
  
  Any doubt regarding <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity] is considered pure except for this [the following case] and another. And which is [this case]? Someone who had upon him a <i>Baheret</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] like [the size of] a bean, and quarantined it, and behold at the end of the week it was the size of a Sela [coin bigger than a bean, but] it is doubtful whether it was it [the original <i>Nega</i>] or whether another [<i>Nega</i>] had come in place of it, [this case is ruled] impure.
  [If] he decided it [to be impure] by its white hair [seen in the <i>Nega</i>], [if] the white hair went away and then the white hair reappeared, and so too [if the hair was replaced with] a healthy patch of skin or an expansion, [whether he decided it by its white hair] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after it was exempted, behold it returns to its previous status [of impurity]. [If] he decided it [to be impure] by a healthy patch of skin [seen in the <i>Nega</i>], [if] the healthy patch of skin went away and then the healthy patch of skin reappeared, and so too [if the patch was replaced with] white hair or an expansion, [whether he decided it by its healthy patch of skin] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after it was exempted, behold it returns to its previous status [of impurity]. [If] he decided it [to be impure] by an expansion [of the <i>Nega</i>], [if] the expansion went away and then the expansion reappeared, and so too [if the expansion was replaced with] white hair, [whether he decided it by its expansion] at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after it was exempted, behold it returns to its previous status [of impurity]. 
  The hair of <i>Pekudah</i> - Akavya ben Mahalal'el declares impure and the Sages declare pure. What is the hair of <i>Pekudah</i>? Someone who had upon him a <i>Baheret</i> with white hair in it, [if] the <i>Baheret</i> disappeared and left white hair in its place, and then returned - Akavya ben Mahalal'el declares it impure and the Sages declare it pure. Rabbi Akiva said: "I agree [with the Sages] in this [case] that it is pure." What is the hair of <i>Pekudah</i> [about which Rabbi Akiva disagrees with the Sages]? Someone who had upon him a <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean with two [white] hairs in it, and then [the size of] half a bean went from it and left the white hair in the area of the <i>Baheret</i> and [then] returned. They [the Sages] said to him: Just like they discredited Akavya’s words, so too your words will not be established [as law]. 
  Any doubt regarding <i>Negaim</i> initially is considered pure, until it has been obligated in impurity. Once it has been obligated in impurity, its doubt is considered impure. How so? Two who came to a priest, one with a <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean, and one like a <i>Sela</i>. At the end of the week [of quarantine], one is like a Sela and the other is like a Sela, but its unclear which one expanded. [This law applies] whether it was one person [with two Negaim] or two people, it is considered pure. Rabbi Akiva says: Regarding one person, it is impure but regarding two people, it is pure.
  Once [the <i>Nega</i>] has been obligated in impurity, its doubt is considered impure. How so? If two [people] came to a priest, one with a <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean, and one like a <i>Sela</i>. At the end of the week [of quarantine], if one is like [the size of] a <i>Sela</i> and more and the other is like [the size of] a <i>Sela</i> and more, both of them are impure. Even if [their <i>Negaim</i>] return to both be like [the size of] a <i>Sela</i>, they are impure until they return to be like [the size of] a bean. This is as they said: Once it has been obligated in impurity, its doubt is considered impure. 
  
  
  
  A <i>Baheret</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] itself is [at minimum] like [the size of] a square Cilician bean. The area of a bean is nine lentils. The area of a lentil is [the area of] four hairs. Thirty-six hairs are [therefore] found [to make up a <i>Baheret</i>].
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean with a patch of healthy skin in it like [the size of] a lentil, [if] the <i>Baheret</i> spread, it is [still] impure. [If] it diminished, it becomes pure. [If] the healthy patch of skin spread, it is [still] impure. [If] it diminished, it becomes pure.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean with a patch of healthy skin in it smaller than a lentil, [if] the <i>Baheret</i> spread, it becomes impure. [If] it diminished, it becomes pure. [If] the patch spread, it becomes impure. [If] it diminished, Rabbi Meir declares impure and the Sages declare pure because a <i>Nega</i> [diseased patch on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity] cannot spread within itself. 
  A <i>Baheret</i> more than [the size of] a bean and within it is a patch of healthy skin more than [the size of] a lentil, [if] they grew or diminished, they are [still] impure, as long as they do not diminish to less than the [minimum] area.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean with a patch of healthy skin like [the size of] a lentil surrounding it and outside of the patch is [another] <i>Baheret</i>, the inner [<i>Nega</i>] requires quarantine and the outer one is decided [to be impure]. Rabbi Yossi said: The patch is not a sign of impurity for the outer one [and so the outer one also requires quarantine]. [If the patch] diminished or went away, Rabban Gamliel says: If it was disappearing from the inside [edge], it is a sign of expansion for the inner [<i>Nega</i> and therefore it is impure] but the outer one is pure. But if it was from the outside [edge], the outer one is pure and the inner one requires quarantine. Rabbi Akiva says: In both cases [the inner <i>Nega</i>] is pure.
  Rabbi Shimon said: When [is the law about the patch diminishing on the inner edge true]? When [the patch] is exactly [the area of] a lentil. If it was more than a lentil, the leftover [becomes] the expansion for the inner [<i>Nega</i>] and the outer one is [still] impure. [If instead of a healthy patch] it was a dull patch less than [the area of] a lentil, it is a sign of expansion for the inner [<i>Nega</i> if the inner edge diminished] but is not a sign of expansion for the outer one [if the outer edge diminished] .
  There are twenty-four tips of limbs on man that do not become impure due to a healthy patch [seen in a <i>Nega</i>]: The tips of the fingers of the hands and feet [i.e. toes], the tips of the ears, the tip of the nose, the tip of the male organ, the tips of the breasts on a woman. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even on a man. Rabbi Eliezer says: Even warts and thin-necked warts do not become impure due to a healthy patch [in the <i>Nega</i>].
  These are the places on man that do not become impure due to a <i>Baheret</i>: inside the eye, inside the ear, inside the nose, inside the mouth, the folds [of skin on body], the folds on the neck, under the breast, the armpit, the sole of the foot, the nail, the head, [the skin of] the beard, the boil and the burn and the blister that are unhealed; [these] do not make <i>Negaim</i> impure and do not combine [to make impure] in [other] <i>Negaim</i> and a <i>Nega</i> cannot expand into them and they are not made impure by a healthy patch of skin [in them] and they do not prevent a person who turned completely white [due to his <i>Nega</i>, from becoming pure]. If the head or beard returned and became bald [or if] the boils, the burns or the blister grew a scab, behold these can make <i>Negaim</i> impure but do not combine [to make impure] in [other] <i>Negaim</i> and a <i>Nega</i> cannot expand into them and they are not made impure by a healthy patch of skin [in them], but they do prevent a person who turned completely white [due to his <i>Nega</i>, from becoming pure]. The head or the beard [of someone] who has not yet grown hair [in them] and the thin-necked warts on the head or in the beard are judged as flesh of the body. 
  
  
  
  These <i>Beharot</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] are pure: Ones that existed in him before the Torah was given, on a non-Jew who [then] converted, on a child or a newborn, on a fold [of skin] that was uncovered, on the head or on the beard, on a boil or burn or blister that is unhealed. [If] the head or beard returned and became bald, [or if] the boil or burn or blister [returned] and grew a scab, they are pure. [If] the head or the beard have not yet grown hair [in them and then] they grew hair and [then] balded, [or if] the boil or burn or blister have not yet grown a scab and [then] they grew a scab and [then] healed, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov declares impure because [both] initially and finally they are impure. But the Sages declare pure.
  <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity)] that changed their appearance, whether leniently or stringently. How [can it change] leniently? [If] it was like snow and became like the lime of the sanctuary [or] like white wool [or] like the membrane of an egg [ - that is - ] a a <i>Se'et</i> [discolored patch of skin, of the brightest white hue, which, upon determination by a Kohen, renders its bearer leprous and thus severly impure] [becomes like its] derivative,  or an <i>Azah</i> [discolored patch of skin, of a secondary white hue, which, upon determination by a Kohen, renders its bearer leprous and thus severly impure] [becomes like its] derivative. How [can it change] stringently? [If] it was like the membrane of an egg and became like white wool [or] like lime in the sanctuary [or] like snow. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria declares pure. Rabbi Elazar Chisma says: [If it changed] leniently, it is pure. Stringently, it should be checked as if new. Rabbi Akiva says: Whether [it changed] leniently or stringently, it should be checked as if new. 
  A <i>Baheret</i> with nothing in it, initially [or] at the end of the first week, it should be quarantined. At the end of the second week [or] after it has been exempted [from being a <i>Nega</i>], it should be exempted. [If] he was still quarantining or exempting it and it developed signs of impurity, it should be decided [as impure]. A <i>Baheret</i> with signs of impurity in it should be decided [as impure]. [If] he was still deciding it and the signs of impurity went away, initially [or] at the end of the first week it should be quarantined. At the end of the second week [or] after the exemption, it should be exempted.
  One who removes the signs of impurity or burns the healthy patch of skin transgresses a negative commandment. And as for [the matter of] purity, as long as he does not go to the priest, he is pure. [If the removal occurred] after it had been decided [as impure], he is impure. Rabbi Akiva said: I asked Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua as they were walking to Gadvad, [if the removal occurred] during his quarantine, what is [the law]? They said to me: We have not heard [about this]. But we have heard that, 'As long as he does not go to the priest, he is pure. After it has been decided, he is impure.' I began to bring proofs that whether [the removal occurred] while he was standing before a priest [or] during his quarantine, it is pure until the priest declares it impure. [If the removal occurred after it had been decided,] when does he become pure? Rabbi Eliezer says: When another <i>Nega</i> develops upon him and he becomes pure from it. But the Sages say: [He is impure] until it spreads all over him or until his <i>Baheret</i> diminishes to less than [the size of] a bean.
  Someone who had a <i>Baheret</i> and it was cut off, he is pure. If he cut it off intentionally, Rabbi Eliezer says: When he gets another <i>Nega</i> and becomes pure from it. But the Sages say: [He is impure] until it spreads all over him. If [the <i>Nega</i>] was on the tip of his foreskin, he should [still] circumcise [himself].
  
  
  
  [If a <i>Nega</i> (diseased patch on skin, clothes, or houses that creates impurity) completely] spreads over the impure [body], it becomes pure. [If] the tips of the limbs return [from being covered], it becomes impure until his <i>Baheret</i> [type of diseased patch that creates impurity] diminishes to less than [the size of] a bean. [If it spread over] the pure [body], it becomes impure. [If] the tips of the limbs return [from being covered], it becomes impure until his <i>Baheret</i> returns to what it was.
  A <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a bean with a healthy patch of skin in it, if [the <i>Baheret</i>] spread over his entire [body] and afterwards the patch went away, or the patch went away and afterwards [the <i>Baheret</i>] spread over his entire [body], he becomes pure. If [subsequently] he develops a healthy patch of skin, he is impure. If he develops white hair, Rabbi Yehoshua declares impure but the Sages declare pure. 
  A <i>Baheret</i> with white hair in it that spread over his entire [body], even though the white hair [remains] in its place, he becomes pure. A <i>Baheret</i> that has expansion, if it spread over his entire [body] he becomes pure. And for all of [these cases], if the tips of his limbs return [from being covered by the <i>Baheret</i>], they become impure. [If] it spread over part of his [body], it becomes impure. [If] it spread over his entire [body], it becomes pure. 
  Any spreading over the tips of those limbs whose spreading purifies what is impure, when they return [from being covered] they are impure. Any returning of the tips of those limbs [from being covered] whose returning makes impure what is pure, if they were covered [again], he becomes pure. If they [then] became revealed, he becomes impure, even [if this were repeated] one hundred times.
  Any [part of the body] that is valid for making the <i>Nega</i> of the <i>Baheret</i> impure prevents the spreading [over the entire body from making him pure]. Any [part of the body] that is not valid for making the <i>Nega</i> of the <i>Baheret</i> impure does not prevent the spreading [over the entire body from making him pure]. How so? [If] it spread over his entire [body] but not over his head or his beard [or] his boil, burn or blister that is unhealed [making him pure], and [then] his head or beard returned and balded, or the boil, burn or healing-resistant blister [returned] and developed a scab, they are [still] pure. [If] it spread over his entire [body] but not over the [area the size of] half a lentil that is adjacent to his head or his beard, or his boil, burn or blister [and then] his head or beard returned and balded, or his boil, burn, or blister [returned] and developed a scab, even if the spot of the healthy skin [that is half a lentil wide] became a <i>Baheret</i>, he is impure until it spreads over everything [including the newly opened areas]. 
  Two <i>Beharot</i>, one impure and one pure, [if the <i>Nega</i>] spread from this one to the other one, and afterwards it spread over his entire [body], he becomes pure. [If one was] on his upper lip [and the other] on his lower lip, [or] on two of his fingers, [or] on two [halves] of his eyelids, even though they are stuck together this one to the other one and they appear like one [<i>Baheret</i>], he becomes pure [if it later spreads over his entire body]. If it spread over his entire [body] but not over [an area with] a <i>Bohak</i> [dull blemish], he becomes impure, [but if] the tips of the limbs returned [from being covered and became] a sort of <i>Bohak</i>, he is [still] pure. [If] the tips of the limbs returned from [an area] less than a lentil, Rabbi Meir declares impure. But the Sages say: A <i>Bohak</i> less than [the size of] a lentil is a sign of impurity in the beginning, but is not a sign of impurity in the end. 
  [If] he comes in [to the priest initially] completely white [with a <i>Nega</i>], he should be quarantined. [If] he develops [two] white hairs, he should be decided [as impure]. [If later] both of them blacken or [only] one of them, [or] both of them shorten or [only] one of them, [or] a boil becomes adjacent to both of them or to one of them, [or] a boil surrounds both of them or one of them, or [the boil] divides them, [whether it was] a boil, a partially healed boil, a burn, a partially healed burn, or a <i>Bohak</i>, [he is pure]. [If] he [instead] develops a patch of healthy skin or white hair, he is impure. If he does not develop a patch of healthy skin nor white hair, he is pure. But in all cases in which the tips of his limbs returned [from being covered], behold they are like they were [in terms of purity status]. If [the <i>Nega</i>] spread over part of his [body], he is impure. [If] it spread of his entire [body], behold he becomes pure.
  If it spread of his entire [body] at once, from [a state of] purity, he becomes impure. From [a state of] impurity, he becomes pure. [A person with a <i>Nega</i>] who is pure from being quarantined is exempt from growing out [his hair], or from ripping [his clothing], or from shaving, or from [bringing] birds [as sacrifices]. [If he became pure] from [a state of] being decided [as impure], he is obligated in all of them. Both of these make [their partners] impure through sexual relations.
  Someone who comes in [to the priest initially] completely white [with a <i>Nega</i>, except for] a healthy patch of skin upon him [the size of] a lentil, [if afterwards it] spread over his entire [body] and then the tips of his limbs returned [from being covered], Rabbi Yishmael says: [The law is the same as] the tips of the limbs returning [from being covered] in the case of a great <i>Baheret</i>. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria says: [The law is the same as] the tips of the limbs returning [from being covered] in the case of a small <i>Baheret</i>.
  There is [a case] of [one] showing his <i>Nega</i> to the priest and benefiting, and there is [a case] where he shows and loses. How so? One who was decided [as impure] and then his signs of impurity went away, if he did not manage to show it to the priest before it spread over his entire [body], he becomes pure, for if he had shown it to the priest, he would have become impure [after it spread over his body]. A <i>Baheret</i> with nothing in it, if he did not manage to show it to the priest before it spread over his entire [body], he is [quarantined for] impurity, for if he had shown it to the priest, he would have become pure [after it spread over his body]. 
  
  
  
  [The <i>Negaim</i> (diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity) within] a boil or burn make one impure after one week [maximum] through two signs: white hair or spreading. What is considered a boil? If he was wounded by wood or by stone or by [the heat generated by] crushed olives or the waters of [the hot springs of] Tiberius, [or] anything not because of a fire, this is considered a boil. What is considered a burn? [If] he was burnt by coals or by embers, [or] anything because of fire, this is considered a burn.
  [The <i>Negaim</i> within] a boil and a burn do not combine with each other [to make a <i>Nega</i> large enough to cause impurity], and do not spread from one to another, and do not spread to [normal] skin, and [normal] skin does not spread into them. If they were unhealed, they are pure [even with a <i>Nega</i>]. If they formed a membrane like the skin of garlic, this is the scab of the boil mentioned in the Torah. [If] they returned [to normal] and healed, even though their area is scarred, they are judged like [normal] skin.
  They asked Rabbi Eliezer: One whose palm raised a <i>Baheret</i> like [the size of] a <i>Sela</i> [coin] and the area of it [the palm] is a scabbed boil, [what is the law]? He responded to them: He should be quarantined. They responded to him: Why? [The palm] is not fit for growing white hair, and as for spreading - it does not spread, and through a healthy patch of skin it does not become impure! He said to them: Maybe it will recede and then spread. They said to him: But is not its area like [the size of] a bean! He said to them: I did not learn [this case]. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira said to him: I will teach it. He said to him: If you will confirm the words of the Sages [that he is confined], go on. He said to him: [The reason is] maybe he will develop another boil outside of it and it will [then] spread into it. He said to him: You are a great wise man that you have confirmed the words of the Sages!
  
  
  
  <i>Netakim</i> [diseased patches on the head or beard] make impure after two weeks [maximum] and through two signs: Thin yellow hair or spreading. Thin yellow hair [means] diseased and short. [These are] the words of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says: Even if long. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said: What does the phrase that they say [mean], "This stick is thin" [or] "This reed is thin?" [Does it mean] thin, diseased and short or thin, diseased and long? Rabbi Akiva said to him: Before we learn from the stick, let us learn from the hair. [If one says,] "The hair of so-and-so is thin," [he means] "Thin, diseased and short," not "Thin, diseased and long."
  Thin yellow hair makes impure [whether it is] concentrated or spread out, [entirely] surrounded [by the <i>Netek</i>] or not [entirely] surrounded, changed [to yellow by the <i>Netek</i>] or not changed. These are the words of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Shimon says: It only makes impure if changed [by the <i>Netek</i>]. Rabbi Shimon said: And this is logical; just as white hair, from which another [non-white] hair does not save [his purity status], only makes impure if changed [by the <i>Netek</i>], thin yellow hair, from which another [non-yellow] hair does save [his purity status], is it not logical that it should only make impure if changed?! Rabbi Yehuda says: Anywhere [in the Torah] where it should say [it needs to be] changed, it said [it needs to be] changed. But the <i>Netek</i>, of which it is said, (Leviticus 13:32) "It did not have in it yellow hair," makes him impure whether changed or not changed. 
  [A <i>Netek</i>] that sprouts [normal hair] saves him from the [impurity caused by] yellow hair or expansion, [whether it is] concentrated or scattered, [entirely] surrounded [by the <i>Netek</i>] or not [entirely] surrounded. And the remaining [normal hair, which preexists the <i>Netek</i>,] saves him from [impurity caused by] yellow hair or from expansion, [whether it is] concentrated or scattered, or [entirely] surrounded. But it does not save when on the edge [of the <i>Netek</i>] unless it is a distance of two hairs from the upright [normal hairs surrounding the <i>Netek</i>]. One yellow [hair] and one black [hair, which preexist the <i>Netek</i>], [or] one yellow and one white, do not save [him from impurity].
  Yellow hair that preexisted the <i>Netek</i> is pure. Rabbi Yehuda declares impure. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: It does not make impure, but it does not save [from impurity]. Rabbi Shimon says: Anything that is not a sign of impurity in the <i>Netek</i> is surely a sign of purity in the <i>Netek</i>!
  How does one shave the <i>Netek</i> [during the second week of quarantine]? He shaves outside of it and leaves two [normal] hairs adjacent to it, so that it will be recognizable if it expands. If [the priest] decided [the <i>Netek</i> was impure] through yellow hair, [and then] the yellow hair went away and [then] the golden hair returned, and so too with expansion, [whether this happened] initially, at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after the exemption [that made the <i>Netek</i> pure], [the <i>Netek</i>] is like it was [i.e. it is impure]. If [the priest] decided [the <i>Netek</i> was impure] through expansion, [and then] the expansion went away and [then] the expansion returned, so too with yellow hair, [whether this happened] at the end of the first week, at the end of the second week, or after the exemption [that made the <i>Netek</i> pure], [the <i>Netek</i>] is like it was [i.e. it is impure]. 
  Two <i>Netakim</i>, one beside the other, and a row of [normal] hair separates between them, [if the row] is broken in one place, he is impure. In two places, he is [still] pure. How [wide] is a breakage? The area of two hairs. [If] it was broken in one place [even the size of] a bean, he is impure. 
  Two <i>Netakim</i>, one inside the other, and a row of hair separates between them, [if the row] is broken in one place, he is impure. In two places, he is pure. How [wide] is a breakage? The area of two hairs. [If] it was broken in one place [the size of] a bean, he is pure.
  Someone who had a <i>Netek</i> with yellow hair in it, it is impure. If he develops black hair [in the <i>Netek</i>], he is pure. Even if the black hair goes away, he is [still] pure. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon: Any <i>Netek</i> that was pure at one time, never again has impurity. Rabbi Shimon says: Any yellow hair that was pure at one time, never again has impurity.
  Someone who had a <i>Netek</i> like [the size of] a bean and [then] his entire head was [covered by the] <i>Netek</i>, he is pure. The head and the beard do not stop each other [from making him pure if one of them is entirely covered but the other is not]. These are the words of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Shimon says: They do stop each other [if one is not fully covered]. Rabbi Shimon said: And this is logical; just as the skin of the face and the skin of the flesh, which have something else [i.e. a beard] separating between them, stop each other [if one is not fully covered], the head and the beard, which do not have something else separating between them, is it not logical that they should stop each other?! The head and the beard do not combine with each other [to constitute the minimum area required for impurity] and cannot expand from one to the other. What is [considered] the beard? From the joint of the jawbone to the thyroid cartilage. 
  The <i>Karachat</i> [blemish that balds the back of the head] or <i>Gabachat</i> [blemish that balds the top of the head] are made impure after two weeks [maximum], and through two signs: a healthy patch of skin or an expansion. What is [the source of] <i>Karachat</i>? [If] he eats a balding medicine, [or] he anointed with a balding medicine, [or] a [head] wound that is not able to grow hair. What is [the location of] <i>Karachat</i>? From the crown sloping backward until the cartilage of the neck. What is [the location of] <i>Gabachat</i>? From the crown sloping forward until the upper hair[line]. <i>Karachat</i> and <i>Gabachat</i> do not combine with each other [to constitute the minimum area required for impurity] and cannot expand from one to the other. Rabbi Yehuda says: If there is hair between them, they do not combine. But if not, surely they combine.
  
  
  
  All clothing can become impure from <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity] except those of non-Jews. One who buys clothing from a non-Jew should examine it as if in the beginning [of the <i>Nega</i>]. Skins of sea creatures do not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. If one attached them to [clothing made] from that which grows in the ground, even a thread or even a string or anything which can become impure, is impure. 
  Wool from camels or wool from sheep which were mixed together: if most of it came from the camel, it does not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>, if most of it came from the sheep, it does become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. If it was half and half, it does become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. And so too with linen and hemp that were mixed together. 
  Leather and garments that are colored do not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. Houses, regardless of whether they are colored or not colored, become impure from <i>Negaim</i>, says Rabbi Meir. But Rabbi Yehuda says leather is like houses. Rabbi Shimon says those colored by the hands of Heaven [naturally] become impure, but by human hands do not become impure. 
  An article of clothing whose warp is colored and its weft is white, or its warp is white and its weft is colored, everything goes according to its appearance. Clothing becomes impure by the deepest green of the green or by the deepest red of the red. If it was deep green and spread as a deep red or a deep red and spread as a deep green, it is impure. If it changed [color] and spread or changed [color] but did not spread, it is as if it did not change. Rabbi Yehuda says, it should be examined as if in the beginning [of the <i>Nega</i>].
  That which stands [remains unchanged] after the first week should be washed and quarantined [again]. That which stands after the second week should be burnt. That which spreads in this or that [week] should be burnt. That which was initially faint, Rabbi Yishmael says it should be washed and quarantined but the Sages say he does not need to. That which was faint after the first week should be washed and quarantined. That which was faint after the second week should be torn out and what was torn should be burnt and it requires patching. Rabbi Nechemia says it does not require patching.
  If the <i>Nega</i> returned to the clothing, the patch is saved. If it returned to the patch, the [entire article of] clothing is burnt. If [a patch of] quarantined [clothing] was attached to pure [clothing] and the spot returned to the clothing, the patch should be burnt. If it returned to the patch, the first piece of clothing should be burnt and the patch should serve the second piece of clothing as an indicator. 
  A screen that has colored and white patches, they extend from one into the other. They asked Rabbi Eliezer, "What if there was only one white section?" and he said, "I do not know." Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira said to him, "Shall I teach in this?" He said to him, "If [your purpose is] to establish the words of the Sages, go on." He said to him, "Maybe it will stand [unchanged] for two weeks, and clothing that stands [unchanged] for two weeks is impure." He said to him, "You are a great Sage because you established the words of the Sages." Connected spreading, any amount [makes it impure] and [spreading over] a distance  must be the size of a bean. And a returning [<i>Nega</i>] must be the size of a bean.
  The warp and the weft are able to become impure from <i>Negaim</i> immediately. Rabbi Yehuda says, the warp when it is boiled and the weft immediately, and spun threads of linen when they are bleached. How much must be on the coil for it to become impure from <i>Negaim</i>? Enough to weave from it three [fingers] by three [fingers], warp and weft, even if it is all warp or even if it is all weft. If there were splits [in the thread], it does not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. Rabbi Yehuda says, even if it split once and he tied it [back together], it does not become impure.
  When raising [thread] from one coil to another, from one spool to another, or from the upper beam to the lower beam, or similarly two sides of a shirt upon one of which a <i>Nega</i> appears, the second remains pure. [If it appears while still] inside the body of the loom or on warp standing [for weaving], they become impure from <i>Negaim</i> immediately. Rabbi Shimon says, if the warp is close together it does not become impure.
  If [the <i>Nega</i>] appears on standing warp, the [already] woven part is still pure. If it appeared in the woven part, the standing warp remains pure. If it appears on a sheet, the fringes must be burnt. If it appears on the fringes, the rest of the sheet remains pure. A shirt upon which appears a <i>Nega</i> saves the trimmings even if they were made of purple wool.
  Anything which can become impure from a dead body, even if it is not able to become impure by being sat on, can become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. For instance, the sail of a ship, a curtain, the decorative piece of a hairnet, covers of <i>sefarim </i> [books of the Tanach written in holiness, on parchment, and used for personal or public study, or for reading aloud in public. Sometimes the intent is specifically Torah scrolls], a belt, the laces of a shoe or of a sandal that has the width of a bean, can all become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. A thick wool garment upon which a <i>Nega</i> appeared, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says it must appear upon both the woven part and the tuft. A flask and a sack are checked as they normally would be and [a <i>Nega</i>] can spread from inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside.
  If a quarantined piece of clothing became mixed up in other [clothing], they are all pure. If he shredded it and made it into rags, it is pure and he can derive benefit from it. If a declared [impure] piece of clothing became mixed up with other [clothing], they are all impure. If he shredded it and made it into rags, it is still impure and he is forbidden to derive benefit from it.
  
  
  
  All houses become impure from <i>Negaim</i> [diseased patches on skin, clothes, or houses that create impurity] except those of non-Jews. One who buys houses from non-Jews should examine them as if in the beginning [of the <i>Nega</i>]. A round house, a triangular house, or a house built on a ship or on a mast or on four beams, does not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. If it were square, even if it were on four pillars, it would be able to become impure.
  A house that one of its sides is covered in marble, one with rocks, one with bricks and one with dirt is pure. A house that did not have in it stones, wood or dirt and a <i>Nega</i> appeared in it and later they brought into it stones, wood or dirt, it is pure. Similarly a piece of clothing that was not woven [an area of] three by three [fingers], and a <i>Nega</i> appeared on it, and later it was woven to three by three, it is pure. A house does not become impure from <i>Negaim</i> until it has bricks, woods and dirt.
  How many stones must be in it?  Rabbi Yishmael says four, Rabbi Akiva says eight, for Rabbi Yishmael used to say [that the <i>Nega</i> does not cause impurity] until it is the size of two beans on two stones or one stone. Rabbi Akiva says, until it is the size of two beans on two stones but not on one stone. Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon says, until it is the size of two beans on two stones on two walls in a corner, its length being like two beans and its width being like one bean.
  [How much] wood? Enough to put under a lintel. Rabbi Yehuda says, enough to make a "sandal" behind the lintel. Dirt? Enough to put between the cracks. Walls of a trough and partition walls do not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. Jerusalem and outside of Israel do not become impure from <i>Negaim</i>. 
  How is a house examined? (Leviticus 14:35) "The one who owns the house comes and tells the priest saying, Something like a <i>Nega</i> has appeared in my house." Even a learned person who knows that it is definitely a <i>Nega</i>, cannot declare and say, "a <i>Nega</i> has appeared in my house," but rather he must say, "Something like a <i>Nega</i> has appeared in my house." (Leviticus 14:36) "The priest commands the house to be emptied (before the priest comes to see the house so that everything in the house will not become impure and then the priest comes to examine the house"). Even bundles of wood and bundles of reeds, says Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Shimon says is he being kept busy emptying out his house? Rabbi Meir says, What of his property becomes impure? If you want to say his wooden utensils, his clothing, and his metal objects, he can immerse them and they will become pure. For which items was the Torah concerned? For his earthenware vessels, his small jugs and his oil dropper. If the Torah was so concerned for his less valuable objects, how much more so for his valuable objects. If so for his money, how much more so for the lives of his sons and daughters. If so for what belongs to a wicked person, how much more so for what belongs to a righteous person.
  He does not go into his own house to quarantine it, nor does he go inside the house with the <i>Nega</i> and quarantine it. Rather he stands next to the entrance of the house with the <i>Nega</i> in it and quarantines it, as it says "The priest goes out of the house to the entrance of the house and quarantines the house for seven days" (Leviticus 14:38). He comes at the end of the week and examines if it spread. "The priest commands and they remove the stones that have the <i>Nega</i> on them and they send them to the outside of the city to an impure place" (Leviticus 14:42). "And they take other stones and bring them in place of the removed stones and he takes different dirt and plasters the house" (Leviticus 14:42). He does not take stones from one side of it to put in the other side of it nor dirt from one side to place in another side and not lime from any place. He does not bring one in place of two [stones] nor two in place of one, but he can bring two in place of two, in place of three, or in place of four. From here they said, Woe to the evil person, woe to his neighbor. Both remove [the stones], both scrape [around them] and both bring the [new] stones. However, he alone must bring the [new] dirt as it says, "he takes different dirt and plasters the house." His friend does not help with the plastering.
  [The priest] returns at the end of the week and he examines: If it returns, "And he destroys the house, its stones, its wood, and all of the dirt of the house, and removes to the outside of the city to an impure place" (Leviticus 14:45). An adjacent spreading [causes impurity] in any amount or [a spreading] from a distance [if it is] the size of a bean, and a returning <i>Nega</i> in houses [if it is] the size of two beans.
  
  
  
  There are ten [cases] of houses. If it dulls during the first [week] or goes away, he scrapes it off and it is pure. If it dulls during the second [week] or goes away, he scrapes it off and it requires [sacrificial] birds. If it spreads in the first [week], he removes, scrapes and plasters and gives it a week. If it returns, [the house] must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If it stood [unchanged] after the first [week] and spread during the second [week], he removes, scrapes and plasters, and gives it a week. If it returned, the house must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If it stood [unchanged] after this [first] and this [second week], he removes, scrapes, and plasters, and gives it a week. If it returns, the house must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If before he purified it with birds the <i>Nega</i> [diseased patch on skin, clothes, or houses that creates impurity] reappeared, it must be destroyed. Once it has been purified with birds, if the <i>Nega</i> reappears, it should be examined as if in the beginning [of the <i>Nega</i>]. 
  A cornerstone, when he removes it, is removed in its entirety, but when he destroys [the house], he destroys what belongs to him but leaves what belongs to his neighbor. We find a stringency in the case of removal beyond that of demolition. Rabbi Elazar says, a house built with a cross-beam and a king-beam, if it appeared on the cross-beam he must remove it all, if it appeared on the king-beam, he removes what belongs to him but leaves what belongs to his neighbor.
  A house upon which a <i>Nega</i> appeared that had an attic on top of it, the beams are considered part of the attic. If it appeared in the attic, the beams are considered part of the house. If there was no attic on top of it, its stones, wood and dirt are destroyed with it, but it saves the frames and the window lattices. Rabbi Yehuda says the frame built on top of it is destroyed with it. Its stones, wood, and dirt, make it impure with [the size of] an olive. Rabbi Elazar Chisma says, in whatever size they are. 
  A quarantined house causes impurity from its inside, and a [house] designated [to be destroyed] from its inside and from its outside. Both this and that [types of house] make one impure by entering it.  
  One who builds a pure house [with bricks] from a quarantined house, and the <i>Nega</i> returned to the house, he removes those stones. If it returned to the stones, the first house should be destroyed and the new stones should serve as indicators for the second house. 
  A house that extends over a house with a <i>Nega</i>, and similarly a tree that extends over a house with a <i>Nega</i>, one who enters the outer one is pure, says Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah. Rabbi Elazar said, if one of its stones causes one to become impure by entering, should not [the whole house] itself make one impure by entering?!
  If an impure person is standing under a tree and a pure person passes [under that tree], he becomes impure. If a pure person is standing under a tree and an impure person passes [under the tree], he remains pure, but if he [the impure person] stood [under the tree], he would become impure. Similarly in the case of a stone with a <i>Nega</i>, [if it passes under] he remains pure, but if he laid it down, he would become impure. 
  A pure person who extended his head and most of his body into an impure house becomes impure. An impure person who extends his head and most of his body into a pure house makes it [the house] impure. A pure cloak of which a three-by-three [finger-length] piece entered an impure house becomes impure. [If it was] an impure [cloak], if he extended even the volume of an olive [of it] into a pure house, it makes [the house] impure. 
  One who enters a house with a <i>Nega</i> and has clothing on his shoulders and his sandals and rings are in his hands, he and all of them become impure immediately. If he was wearing his clothes and his sandals were on his feet and his rings were in his hands, he becomes impure immediately, and they are pure until he stays there long enough to eat half a loaf of bread, wheat bread and not barley bread, while leaning and eating with a condiment. 
  If he was standing inside and he extended his hand outside and his rings were in his hands, if he remained there long enough to eat half a loaf of bread, they are impure. If he was standing outside and extended his hand inside and his rings were in his hands, Rabbi Yehuda declares him impure immediately but the Sages say, until he remains long enough to eat half a loaf of bread. They said to Rabbi Yehuda, "If when his entire body is impure, things that are on him only become impure if he remains long enough to eat half a loaf of bread, when his whole body is not impure should not what is on him certainly not become impure until he remains long enough to eat half a loaf?"
  A leper who enters a house, all of the vessels within it become impure even up to the beams. Rabbi Shimon says, [only] up to four cubits. The vessels become impure immediately. Rabbi Yehuda says, not until he stays long enough to light a candle. 
  If he enters a synagogue, they make for him a wall ten <i>Tefachim</i> [specific unit of length] high by four <i>Tefachim</i> wide. He enters first and exits last.  Anything that is saved by a seal in the tent of a dead person is saved by a seal in a house with a <i>Nega</i>. Whatever is saved by being covered in the tent of a dead person is saved by being covered in a house with a <i>Nega</i>, says Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yossi says, Anything that is saved by a seal in the tent of a dead person is saved by being covered in a house with a <i>Nega</i>. Whatever is saved by being covered in the tent of a dead person, even if it is uncovered in a house with a <i>Nega</i>, remains pure. 
  
  
  
  How does one purify the leper? He would bring a new earthenware pitcher and place within it a <i>Revi'it</i> [specific unit of volume] of spring water and bring two wild birds. He slaughters one of them over the earthenware vessel and the spring water. He digs and buries it before him. He takes cedar wood, and hyssop and a red string and ties them together with the ends of the string. He surrounds them with the tips of the wings and the tip of the tail of the second one. He dips and sprinkles seven times on the back of the hand of the leper. Some say on his forehead. And so too would he sprinkle on the outer lintel of the house.
  He comes to him to send away the living bird, he does not face the sea nor the city nor the desert, as it says (Leviticus 14) "He shall send away the living bird outside the city toward the field." He comes to shave the leper, he passes a razor over all of his body, washes his clothing, and immerses. He is pure in that he does not make [places] impure by entering, but he makes things impure like a vermin. He can enter within the wall, but he cannot enter his house for seven days and he is forbidden from sexual relations. 
  On the seventh day he shaves a second shaving like the first shaving, he washes his clothing and immerses. He is [now] pure in that he does not make things impure like a vermin, and is now [in terms of purity status] a <i>Tevul Yom</i> [someone who has immersed on that day]. He is permitted to eat tithes. Once the sun sets he can eat from <i>Terumah</i> [a portion of a crop given to a priest which becomes holy upon separation]. Once he brings his atonement [sacrifices] he can eat from holy things. It is found that there are three stages of purity by a leper and three stages of purity by one who gives birth. 
  Three people shave and their shaving is a commandment: The Nazirite, the leper, and Levites. All of them who shaved without a razor or who left two hairs have accomplished nothing. 
  The two birds, their commandment is that they be similar in appearance, height and value, and should be bought at the same time. Even if they are not the same they are [still] valid. If he bought one today and one tomorrow they are valid. If he slaughtered one of them and found that it was not wild, he should bring a partner for the second one. The first one is permitted to be eaten. If he slaughtered it and found it to be a <i>Terefah</i> [an animal with a mortal condition such that it would die within one year], he should bring a partner for the second one. The first is permitted in benefit. If the blood spilled, the one to be sent away must die. If the one to be sent away dies, the blood must be spilled out. 
  The commandment of the cedar wood is that its length should be one cubit and its width should be a quarter of the leg of a bed, cutting one piece to two and then those two to four. The commandment of the hyssop is that it should not be Greek hyssop or blue hyssop or Roman hyssop or desert hyssop or any type of hyssop which has an accompanying name.  
  On the eighth day he brings three animals: A sin-offering, a guilt-offering, and a burnt-offering. A poor person brings the bird sin-offering and the bird burnt-offering. 
  He comes to the guilt-offering, and leans his two hands on it, slaughters it and two priests capture its blood, one in a vessel and one in his hand. The one who captures it in the vessel goes and throws it on the wall of the altar. The one who captures it in his hand goes to the leper.  The leper immerses in the chamber of the lepers. He then goes and stands in the Gate of Nikanor. Rabbi Yehuda says he does not require immersion. 
  He extends his head and [the priest] places the blood on the cartilage of his ear. [He then extends] his hand and he places the blood on the thumb of his hand. [He then extends] his food and he places the blood on the big toe of his foot. Rabbi Yehuda says he would extend all three at once. If he does not have the thumb of a hand, the big toe of a foot, or a right ear, he can never become pure.  Rabbi Eliezer says, he can place [the blood] on their places. Rabbi Shimon says if he put it on his left, it is valid. 
  He then takes from the <i>Log</i> [specific unit of volume] of oil and pours some on the palm of his friend [the other priest]. If he poured it into his own palm it is valid. He dips [his finger in the oil] and sprinkles seven times towards the Holy of Holies and before every sprinkling there was a dipping. He then came to the leper and wherever he placed the blood, there he places the oil, as it says (Leviticus 14) "On the place of the blood of the guilt-offering. What remains from the oil in the palm of the priest he should place on the head of the person being purified to atone."  If he placed it he atones, if not he does not atone, says Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says, they are the leftover of a commandment and regardless of whether he places it or he does not place it he atones but we consider him as if he did not atone. If part of the <i>Log</i> was deficient before he poured it, he must refill it, once he pours it out he must bring another as in the beginning, says Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Shimon says, if the <i>Log</i> was deficient before he placed it he must refill it, once he placed it he must bring another as in the beginning. 
  A leper who brought his sacrifices while poor and then became rich, or while rich and then became poor, everything goes after the sin-offering, says Rabbi Shimon. Rabbi Yehuda says it goes after the guilt-offering. 
  A poor leper who brought the sacrifices of a rich man fulfilled his obligation, but a rich man who brought the sacrifices of a poor man did not fulfill his obligation. A man can bring for his son, his daughter, his slave, or his maidservant the offering of a poor person and then feed them from offerings. Rabbi Yehuda says even for his wife he can bring the offering of a rich person and so too for every offering she is obligated [to bring]. 
  If the offerings of two lepers became mixed up, if the offering of one of them was offered and the other one of them died, this is what the people of Alexandria asked Rabbi Yehoshua and he said to them, he should write all of his property to the other person and bring the offering of a poor person. 