I was at the sea yesterday and there were a whole bunch of people that seemed to me to have that sense and aroma of Torah to be Litvaks and so I asked. They said they were. We got into a discussion and I said I often think about some difficult sugia/subject in Rav Shach while at the sea --but that I was ready to give up on that one I was thinking about for a while laws of what makes a bed and chair unclean 3:7 and laws of forbidden relations 9:3. Then somehow today it suddenly hit me.
It is this the Gemara in Nida4 side b says a stain is unclean retroactively because when she has a cycle sees actual blood not at the time of her cycle, she is unclean retro actively 24 hours. Rav Shach asked "what is the connection". I repeated this question on my blog without mentioning Rav Shach because at that time I had no idea what Rav Shach was saying at all. Now I not only see that this was in fact his question but I see his answer also. And here it is: There are two decrees. One is for a stain. Without a decree this would not even indicate anything because blood does not make a woman unclean unless it come with sensation. So just finding a stain would be nothing. So now we have a decree. But that is a decree that a stain is like seeing. And now we understand the Gemara in nida that ties seeing not at the time of her cycle with a stain. The reasoning is this: when she sees not at the regular time she is unclean back in time 24 hours and now that there is such a thing as being retroactively unclean by seeing actual blood it is therefore possible t make a decree that a stain also should have a law of being unclean retro actively. And that is 24 hours if she sees the stain not at the time of her cycle, and furthermore it goes back to the last time she checked even more than 24 hours if she has no cycle at all.
What got me confused was this last point, When is the stain a 24 hour thing and when does it go back further until the last time she checked.
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There are two תקנות. One is for a stain. Without a decree this would not even indicate anything because blood does not make a woman unclean unless it come with sensation. So just finding a stain would be nothing. So now we have a decree. But that is a decree that a stain is like seeing. And now we understand the גמרא נידה that ties seeing not at the time of her cycle with a stain. The reasoning is this: when she sees not at the regular time she is unclean back in time 24 hours and now that there is such a thing as being retroactively unclean by seeing actual blood it is therefore possible make a decree that a stain also should have a law of being unclean retroactively. And that is 24 hours if she sees the stain not at the time of her cycle, and furthermore it goes back to the last time she checked even more than 24 hours if she has no cycle at all.
יש שתי תקנות. אחת היא עבור כתם. בלי גזירה זה אפילו לא היה מעיד על שום דבר כי דם אינו מטמא אישה אלא אם כן בא בתחושה. אז רק למצוא כתם לא יהיה כלום. אז עכשיו יש לנו גזירה. אבל זו גזירה שכתם הוא כמו לראות. ועתה אנו מבינים את הגמרא נידה שקושרת לראות שלא בשעת מחזורה בכתם. הנימוק הוא כזה: כשהיא לא רואה בזמן הקבוע היא טמאה אחורה בזמן 24 שעות ועכשיו כשיש דבר כזה שטמאה רטרואקטיבית בראיית דם ממש אפשר אפוא לגזור שגם לכתם צריך להיות דין טמא למפרע. וזה 24 שעות אם היא רואה את הכתם לא בזמן המחזור, ועוד זה חוזר לפעם האחרונה שהיא בדקה אפילו יותר מ-24 שעות אם אין לה מחזור בכלל.
[Of course, you can imagine I was thrilled to see people following the Gra and Rav Shach. Their yeshiva is on that path because the rosh yeshiva is a student from Ponovitch. [And maybe a direct student of Rav Shach also. I did not get that part clear.]]
