Dear Rabbi Kornfeld,
(a) The mishna in shekalim mentions that on the first of Adar they fixed the Mikvot hamayim. Both the Pnei Moshe and Korban Haeyda explains that on of the things fixed was the volume of the mikvot, to make sure they were 40 seah. According to the gemara in mesechet Makot daf 4A, we see that a person who was tovel in Yam Hagadol where 3 lugin of water spilled keeps his original status because of the safek. So what would be the din for all the people who went to a mikva that must be fixed?
According to the gemara in Makos, the mikva should be checked daily, so we can say if keeps it chazaka for the same day. Similar to a shechita knife, and tzitit. Or do we say it will be similar to a sefer torah that we find mistake saying that the chazaka is that it is kosher till now.
I find the second idea hard because of the metzius, of how much themikva was missing at the date of Rosh Chodesh.
(b) Another question: on Daf 2B in shekalim it mentions the time when Tzorchei Rabim was done, including the inyan of sotah, (that it was done during chol Hamoed and Rosh Chodesh Adar). Isn't this an inyan of Inui Hadin, if we wait just during these times. Or does the Mishna teach us the chidush that even at these time (chol Hamoed) you can also judge a sotah.
Thank you, and Yasher Koach for the great work that you are doing.
Good Shabbos and Kol Tuv,
Moshe Fried
(a) The Mishnah in Mikvaos (2:2) says that if a Mikvah is found to be short of the required shiur, all those who immersed in it since the time it is known to have been full are Tamei. This is because we leave them on their Chazakah as is explained at length in Nidah 2b. Here we have what the Gemara calls Tarti le'Reiyasa, in other words, we leave the person on his Chazakah that he was Tameih, even though the Mikvah had a Chezkas Malei, because we add the Chaseir Lefaneinu to the Chazakah de'Me'ikara (Chezkas Tumah) of the Tovel. Obviously if the Mikvah was so full that we are sure that it was at least a certain amount of time until it became Chaseir, we would consider those that immersed at that time to be Tahor.
Some say that we need not check Tzitzis and the Shechitah knife mei'Ikar ha'Din since we may rely on Chazakah, but we are Machmir to check (Rosh quoted by Magen Avraham OC 8:11). Others say that Tzitzis need checking because they often snap and the Shechitah knife often becomes Pagum (Magen Avraham ibid. and Bach YD 18 see also Ritva Chulin 3b). Others (see Magen Avraham and Gra ibid.) say that beforehand we must check because we do not rely on Chazakah where it is possible to be Mevarer (Most Poskim agree that this Chiyuv is mi'de'Rabanan). The Din of Mikvah would depend on these Peshatim.
(b) Inuy ha'Din applies after Beis Din have decided that a person is Chayav a specific Onesh (see Sanhedrin 35a and Rashi DH Lidaynei, Rambam Sanhedrin 12:4 and Tosfos Moed Katan 14b) whereas with Sotah we have not been Mechayav her an Onesh so Inuy ha'Din does not apply.
Dov Freedman