Talmud Nazir (E)

it, he was in doubt [as to its effect].
14
 
    R. Jeremiah propounded: What is the law regarding corpsemould coming from the heel?
15
 Does
our tradition specify corpsemould derived from a whole corpse, but not corpse-mould resulting from
[the decomposition of] the heel, or is there no difference? — Come and hear: R. Nathan son of R.
Oshaia learnt that corpsemould derived from two corpses is unclean. Now if you assume that what
comes from the heel is not [counted as corpse-mould], then, if we look to the one [corpse], [the
mould in the mixture] may have been taken from the heel, and if to the other, it may have been taken
from the heel?
16
 — Where the whole corpse has decayed and [the corpse-mould] has been taken
from the heel, there it would certainly be [counted as corpse-mould],
17
 but here the question is when
one limb
18
 has decomposed and [the mould] has been taken from the heel. This was left unsolved.
 
    R. Jeremiah propounded: Does a fetus in a woman's womb act as gilgelin or not? Since a Master
has affirmed that a fetus counts as the thigh of its mother, is it therefore part of her body and so does
not act as gilgelin, or perhaps since it would eventually leave [the womb], does it count as separated
from her? Should you decide that since a fetus will eventually leave [the womb], it is separate from
her,
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(1) For the resultant mould will be mixed with fragments of cloth, wood, or brick, since these crumble. Tosef. Oh. II, 2.
(2) And ‘Ulla said all three are necessary.
(3) Var. lec. Shaman.
(4) A covering or girdle. lit., ‘wrappers’; so that the corpse. mould which results does not defile, just as it does not when
the corpse is buried in a shroud.
(5) Inserted from Bah.
(6) In such a case, the joint mixture causes defilement; but if buried together, the resultant mould does not defile.
(7) Oh. III, 3.
(8) Hair that is long and would have been polled had not death intervened.
(9) Does the resultant corpse-mould defile? — So Rashi. According to Tosaf. the question is: Is the hair unclean or not?
(10) And prevents the formation of corpse-mould.
(11) And count as part of the body.
(12) ‘If he cut the hair and buried it, it acts as gigelin’.
(13) Thus attached hair counts as part of the corpse.
(14) And this was the very question of Hezekiah.
(15) The lower part of the body.
(16) And the resulting mixture should not defile, if corpsemould from the heel does not.
(17) This is shown by R. Nathan's dictum.
(18) One of the lower limbs.
Talmud - Mas. Nazir 51b
Talmud - Mas. Nazir 51b
Talmud - Mas. Nazir 51b
what would be the law regarding semen in a woman s womb? Do we say that because it has not yet
formed [into an embryo] it counts as part of her body,
1
 or perhaps seeing it has come from
elsewhere, it is not [part of the body]?
2
 
    R. Papa propounded: What about excrement? Seeing that one cannot exist without food, is it part
of one's life,
3
 or perhaps this too comes from elsewhere?
4
 
    R. Aha son of R. Ika propounded: What about his skin?
5
 
    R. Huna b. Manoah propounded: What about his phlegm and his mucus?
 
    R. Samuel b. Aha said to R. Papa: If now you assume that all these mentioned act as gilgelin, how

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can there be corpse-mould which defiles? — If he was given to drink water from [the Well of] the
Palm Trees,
6
 depilated with nasha,
7
 and was steeped in the [hot] springs of Tiberias.
8
 
    Abaye said: We hold a tradition that a corpse that has been ground to powder does not come under
[the law of] corpse-mould. The following was propounded: If it were ground and then decayed, what
would be the law? Is the reason [that corpse-mould defiles] solely because flesh and bones and
sinews are present, and here they are present, or do we require it [to have become corpsemould] as in
its original form, and this has not occurred? This was left unsolved.
 
    ‘Ulla b. Hanina learned: A defective corpse
9
 does not come under [the law of] corpse-dust,
10
 nor
does it acquire the soil on which it lies,
11
 nor does it help to make an area into a graveyard.
12
 The
following objection was raised. [We have learnt:] No! Because you say this
13
 of a corpse to which
[the law concerning] ‘the greater part, a quarter [kab]’ and ‘a ladleful of corpse-mould’ applies,
would you say it of a living body to which [the laws concerning] ‘the greater part, a quarter [kab of
bones]’ and ‘a ladleful of corpse-mould’ do not apply?
14
 What are the circumstances?
15
 [Surely,]
that one limb has decayed.
16
 And similarly
17
 in the case of a corpse, even if one member [has
decomposed, the law of] corpse-dust applies?
18
 — Does it say, ‘whereas in the case of a corpse [the
law of corpse-dust applies]’?
19
 What we are told is that there are corpses to which [the law of]
corpse-dust applies,
20
 but there are no living bodies to which [the law of] corpse-dust applies.
 
    Raba propounded: If [a man's limb] decayed whilst he was alive and he then died,
21
 what would
the law be?
22
 Does the tradition specify corpse-mould which decayed when he was dead, or perhaps
it is enough that he is now dead? — Come and hear [the following]. [We have learnt:] No! Because
you say this of a corpse to which [the laws concerning] ‘the greater part’, ‘a quarter [kab of bones]’
and ‘a ladleful of corpse-mould’ apply, would you say it of a living body etc. The reason [that the
law of corpse-mould does not apply to a living body] is because it is alive, from which we infer that
if he died [the law of] corpse-mould would apply.
23
 — Does it say, ‘whereas if he died [the law of
corpse-mould applies]’? What we are told is that there are corpses to which [the law of]
corpse-mould applies, but there are no living bodies to which [the law of] corpsemould applies.
24
 
    Raba propounded: What is the law concerning a defective
25
 ant?
26
 Does the tradition specify [a
certain] size
27
 and this is wanting, or does it specify a [separate] creature
28
 and this it is? —
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(1) And does not act as gilgelin.
(2) And acts as gilgelin.
(3) And so does not act as gilgelin.
(4) And not being part of the body acts as gilgelin.
(5) Does it act as gilgelin or not? Rashi translates: What about his spittle?
(6) A violent purgative; v. Shab. 110a.
(7) A natural depilatory, v. supra p. 164, n. 4.
(8) To remove the skin.
(9) One lacking a member.
(10) When it decays, a ladleful of its corpse-dust does not defile by ‘overshadowing’.
(11) Lit., ‘take possession’. If a complete corpse is unearthed, the soil round about it must be removed with the body; v.
infra Mishnah 64b.
(12) Lit., ‘It has not (the law of) the area of a cemetery’. If three complete corpses are found together, the place where
they are found must be converted into a graveyard. Ibid.
(13) That an olive's bulk of its flesh defiles by ‘overshadowing’.
(14) V. ‘Ed. VI, 3.
(15) Under which the law of corpse-mould does not apply to a living body.
(16) I.e., only part of the body.
(17) Since the cases are parallel.

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