[121a - 42 lines; 121b - 41 lines]
1)[line 1]טבילה בזמנה לאו מצוהTEVILAH B'ZEMANAH LAV MITZVAH
(a)According to Torah law, most people who become Tamei must immerse themselves in a Mikvah in order to become Tahor.
(b)Each type of Tum'ah has a set time after which one may immerse himself and become Tahor. For example:
1.Nidah - at night, after seven complete days have passed since the onset of the bleeding;
2.Zavah Ketanah - on the day after she stops bleeding;
3.Zavah Gedolah - on the seventh clean day after she stops bleeding. (Nowadays, every woman who experiences bleeding counts seven clean days like a Zavah Gedolah, and immerses after nightfall, see below entry #3b.)
4.Ba'al Keri - even on the same day that he has an emission of Keri.
(c)According to one opinion (Rebbi Yosi b'Rebbi Yehudah), Tevilah bi'Zemanah Lav Mitzvah, i.e. immersing oneself at the first opportunity is not a Torah commandment, but rather a recommended practice. Other Tana'im (Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel) disagree and maintain that it is a commandment, whose source is the verse in Devarim 23:12.
2)[line 4]הזבZAV
(a)A Zav, a man who emits Zov two or three times (see Background to Shabbos 84:1), whether it is emitted in one day or in two or three consecutive days, is an Av ha'Tum'ah. Zov is a clear discharge with the appearance of the white of a sterile or spoiled egg, in contrast with semen, which has the consistency of fresh egg white. Zov can also be a pus-like discharge resembling the liquid from barley dough or soft barley batter.
(b)A Zav must count seven "clean" days in which he sees no Zov in order to start his purification process, as it states in Vayikra 15:13. Afterwards, he immerses in a spring during the day to complete the process (ibid.).
3)[line 4]הזבהZAVAH
(a)The eleven days that follow the seven days of Nidah are "days of Zivah." If a woman experiences bleeding during these days for one or two consecutive days, she becomes a Zavah Ketanah and is Temei'ah. If she does not experience bleeding the following night and day, she may immerse in a Mikvah to become Tehorah. She may even immerse in a Mikvah the following morning, but her Tum'ah and Taharah are contingent upon whether or not she sees blood afterwards on that day. For this reason, some Poskim write that she should wait until nightfall to immerse (see Aruch ha'Shulchan Yoreh De'ah 183:7). She is called a Shomeres Yom Keneged Yom, because she must watch the following day to see whether or not she sees blood.
(b)If a woman has a show of blood for three consecutive days during her 11 days of Zivah, she becomes a Zavah Gedolah. In order for her to become Tehorah, she must count seven "clean days" during which she verifies that she has no other show of blood. On the morning of the seventh clean day she immerses in a Mikvah. If she does not experience bleeding during the rest of the day she is Tehorah and no longer a Zavah. As mentioned above, the Poskim write that she should wait until nightfall to immerse.
(c)A Zavah Gedolah must bring a Korban Zavah to permit her to enter the Beis ha'Mikdash or to eat Kodshim. The Korban is two doves or two turtle-doves, one as an Olah and one as a Chatas.
4)[line 4]בועל נדהBO'EL NIDAH
A person who has relations with a Nidah becomes Tamei for seven days, like the Nidah herself. His laws of Tum'ah, however, are less stringent. The objects he touches, as well as Tachtono, the objects underneath him, have the same status as the objects above a Nidah, namely, Rishon l'Tum'ah, as it states in Vayikra 15:24. (See Nidah 33a, and Charts to Nidah 33:8b) After seven days, he immerses in a Mikvah during the day to complete his purification process.
5)[line 5]נדהNIDAH
(a)By Torah Law, a woman who has her period is a Nidah for seven days. It makes no difference whether she saw blood only one time or for the entire seven days. At the end of seven days, after nightfall, she can immerse in a Mikvah to become Tehorah if she has stopped seeing blood. (If she sees blood during the following eleven days, she becomes a Zavah.)
(b)A Nidah, like a Zav or Zavah or Yoledes, can cause objects that are under her to become Avos ha'Tum'ah whether she touches them or not. The objects become Tamei Midras (lit. an object that is treaded upon), otherwise known as Mishkav or Moshav ha'Nidah (or the Tachton of a Nidah). An object under a Nidah becomes a Midras only if it was made for lying, sitting, or leaning upon. Earthenware objects (Klei Cheres) cannot become Midras.
(c)A person who touches (Maga) or carries (Masa) either a Midras or the Nidah herself, along with the clothes he is wearing and other utensils (except for earthenware utensils) that he is touching at the time, get the status of Rishon l'Tum'ah.
(d)Utensils or clothes which lie above the Nidah also get the status of a Rishon l'Tum'ah, whether they touch her or not. These are called the Elyon of a Nidah.
6)[line 9]דייה טבילה באחרונהDAYAH TEVILAH BA'ACHARONAH- The Gemara in Nidah 29b discusses the case of a pregnant woman who left for a journey and returned after having miscarried. If she did not know when she miscarried, the Rabanan require her to immerse thirty-five times, since there are many doubts as to when her days of Tum'ah end (since she may have miscarried a male or female fetus, and she may have been a Zavah at the time, etc.). Rebbi Yosi b'Rebbi Yehudah rules that Tevilah bi'Zemanah Lav Mitzvah. She need not immerse at the first opportunity for each possible sequence of Tum'ah, and as such must immerse only once after all of the possible sequences have passed (which is at the end of three weeks, had she been a Zavah when she miscarried a female fetus).
7)[line 22]אנשי גיסטרא של ציפוריANSHEI GISTERA SHEL TZIPORI- the Roman garrison of Tzipori
8)[line 23]אפטרופוסAPOTROPOS- an administrator of one's possessions
9)[line 26]אפרכוסIPARCHOS- lieutenant
10)[line 31]קטן אוכל נבלות בית דין מצווין עליו להפרישוKATAN OCHEL NEVEILOS, BEIS DIN METZUVIN ALAV L'HAFRISHO - Beis Din is obligated to prevent [lit. "separate"] a child from eating Neveilos
(a)The Torah exempts a Jewish minor (boy under the age of 13, girl under the age of 12) from the performance of Mitzvos.
(b)There is an argument in Maseches Yevamos 114a whether or not Beis Din is obligated to make sure that minors do not transgress any Torah prohibition, in order that the child not become accustomed to transgressing and continue when he becomes an adult.
(c)Whether or not Beis Din is obligated to prevent a child from sinning, everyone agrees that the father of the child is obligated to teach his child the ways of the Torah and the Mitzvos. (Some maintain that this obligation applies only to positive commandments.) See Insights to Shabbos 121:1.
11)[line 39]ערבARAV- a town near Tzipori in the lower Galilee
12)[line 39]חוששני לו מחטאתCHOSHESHEINI LO ME'CHATAS- I suspect that he may be Chayav to bring a Korban Chatas for accidentally transgressing Shabbos. (That is, Rebbi Yochanan was not sure if a scorpion can be considered "b'Mino Nitzod," a creature that is normally hunted. If it is normally hunted, one who traps it b'Shogeg is Chayav Chatas.)
121b----------------------------------------121b
13)[line 1]פורייתאPURYASA- couches upon which to recline
14)[line 9]גרף של רעיGRAF SHEL RE'I - a pan of refuse
(a)The Rabanan enacted a prohibition of Muktzah against handling certain types of objects on Shabbos (the extent of this prohibition is the subject of an argument between Rebbi Yehudah and Rebbi Shimon; see Shabbos 45a and other places, and Background to Shabbos 44:3 and 44:5a-b).
(b)However, when an item of Muktzah which is disgusting is resting in a place where people would like to sit and they find it very unpleasant to sit near such a disgusting item, the Rabanan permitted the item to be removed, due to the honor of Shabbos which the item would otherwise be diminishing. For example, a pan of human or animal refuse, or a dead mouse, even though it is Muktzah, may be removed.
(c)It is not permitted to place a disgusting item in a place where people will want to sit, with the intention to move it later when people sit there and are disgusted by it. For example, while eating dates, one may not pile up the date pits in one place at the table in order to permit moving the pits when the pile becomes disgusting to those who want to sit there (Daf 143a).
15)[line 11]איספרמקיISPARMAKEI- spices; scent-box
16)[line 12]צוציתיהTZUTZISEI- its tail
17)[line 17]צירעהTZIR'AH- a hornet
18)[line 18]חדייבCHADYEIV- Adiabena, a district of Assyria between the rivers Lycus and Caprus
19a)[line 22]מתרצתאMETARTZESA- correct
b)[line 23]משבשתאMESHABESHTA- faulty
20)[line 24]תני תנא... ההורג נחשים ועקרבים בשבתTANI TANA... HA'HOREG NECHASHIM V'AKRAVIM B'SHABBOS- That is, one who kills a dangerous creature other than the five mentioned in the Beraisa, and it is not pursuing him (according to Rashi; this Tana is obviously following the opinion of Rebbi Shimon - see also Insights).
21)[line 27]שלימתינהו לכולהו?!SHELIMTINHU L'CHULHU?!- did you finish killing all of them?!
22)[line 30]בנישופין בוB'NISHOFIN BO- when they are threatening to attack him (lit. when they are hissing at him)
23)[line 30]נפל אחד בבית המדרשNAFAL ECHAD B'VEIS HA'MIDRASH- that is, on Shabbos a snake once entered the Beis ha'Midrash
24)[line 31]ניותי אחדNIVTI ECHAD- a [Jewish] Nabatean
25)[line 31]פגע בו כיוצא בוPAGA BO KA'YOTZEI BO- it (the snake) was stricken by one who has similar characteristics. The Gemara examines this statement as to whether it was a complementary or derogatory remark.
26)[line 33]קילעאKIL'A- a curtained enclosure, esp. ante-room or hall
27)[line 33]נפק מילתא מבינייהוNAFAK MILSA MI'BEINAIHU- during their discussion, the following question arose
28)[line 33]לפי תומוLEFI TUMO- [he kills them while walking] normally (lit. innocently, without specific intent)
29)[line 35]הוה מסקי ביהHAVAH MASKEI BEI- he (Aba bar Marta) owed money to the household of the Exilarch
30)[line 36]הוה שדי רוקאHAVAH SHADI ROKA- [they noticed that] saliva was lying on the floor (this incident occurred on Shabbos)
31)[line 37]סחיפו עלויהSECHIFU ILAVEI- cover it
32)[line 38]פמוטותPAMOTOS- (a) small metal lamps (RASHI); (b) large metal lamps (TOSFOS)