[40a - 51 lines; 40b - 37 lines]
1)[line 1]שושן הבירהSHUSHAN HA'BIRAH- a structure on top of the eastern gate of the Azarah. On this structure was a relief sculpture of the capital of Persia, Shushan. The sculpture was built in honor of the King of Persia who helped build the Beis ha'Mikdash, and also so that those who saw it should remember a) where they came from [and that they had once been exiled due to their sins. This reminded them to give thanks to their King, the King of all kings, who took them out of Persia]; b) that they still were not completely free, and they needed to be subservient to the Persian Empire
2)[line 3]של משהSHEL MOSHE- the measuring-stick of a cubit which Moshe himself used
3)[line 15]עכוזוAKUZO- its buttocks
4)[line 15]ממעךMEMA'ECH- he presses and feels the scrotum and the flanks
5)[line 17]בכסליםBA'KESALIM- in the flanks
6)[line 29]רגליו קלוטותRAGLAV KELUTOS- its hooves are not cloven
7)[line 32]עגילןAGILAN- they are rounded
8)[line 32]סדיקןSADIKAN- cracked
9)[line 34]נשתרבבNISHTARBEV- it is enlarged
10)[line 38]המדברHA'MEDABER- the part of the tongue one must utilize in order to talk
11)[line 39]אינו ניכר מחמת עצמו, אבל ניכר מחמת מלאכהEINO NIKAR MACHMAS ATZMO, AVAL NIKAR MACHMAS MELACHTO- the fracture is not seen, but is noticeable when the leg is used in walking
12)[line 42]תשב לזכר... תשב לנקבהTESHEV L'ZACHAR ... TESHEV L'NEKEVAH (YOLEDES)
(a)In Vayikra 12:1-8, the Torah discusses the laws of Tum'ah and Taharah after childbirth. (The same Halachos apply to a woman who miscarries after the fetus has reached a certain stage of development.) After a woman gives birth, she must wait for a certain amount of time before she can enter the Beis ha'Mikdash or eat Kodshim. That time period is divided into two stages:
1.During the initial stage, she has the status of a Nidah (even if she had not seen any blood). If she gave birth to a male, this lasts for seven days. If a female was born, this stage lasts for two weeks. At the end of this period, she may go to the Mikvah after nightfall. After she has gone to the Mikvah, she is known as a "Tevulas Yom Aroch" (a "long" Tevulas Yom - see Background to Nidah 71:23b), and she is permitted to her husband and to eat Ma'aser Sheni.
2.During the second stage, any bleeding that she experiences does not give her the status of a Nidah as it normally would. This blood is called Dam Tohar. Nevertheless, during this period, she may not eat Terumah, Kodshim or enter the Beis ha'Mikdash. This lasts for thirty-three days for a male, and sixty-six days for a female. Thus, the total waiting period for a male is forty days and for a female, eighty days.
(b)Any bleeding that the woman experiences after the conclusion of the above two terms is the start of her regular cycle (Dam Nidah).
(c)At the end of the above two stages, the woman may eat Kodshim and enter the Azarah of the Beis ha'Mikdash only after she brings a Korban Yoledes. Until then she is a Mechuseres Kaparah (see Background to Me'ilah 8:4). Her Korban includes a male sheep as an Olah and a Tor (turtledove) or a Ben Yonah (common dove) as a Chatas. If she could not afford a sheep, she brings two Torim or two Bnei Yonah, one as an Olah and one as a Chatas.
(d)A woman who does not know whether she gave birth to a male or a female must act in accordance with the stringencies of both. The initial term, during which she has the same status as a Nidah, is kept for two weeks. The second term, when her blood is Dam Tohar, is kept from then until the end of forty days from the time of birth. However, she may not eat Terumah, Kodshim or enter the Beis Ha'Mikdash until eighty days after the birth. (The current practice is to consider a woman a Nidah even if she sees blood during the period of Dam Tohar - see Insights to Nidah 25:2.)
13)[line 44]אוכמאUCHMA- the black [pupil]
14)[line 44]חיווראCHIVRA- with white; alt. TZIRA (Rashi's Girsa) - the entire part that fills the slit of the eye; alt. TZIHARA (Rabeinu Chananel's Girsa, cited by the Aruch) - the red ring surrounding the black of the eye]
15)[line 45]שפידSHAPID- its mouth is rounded; alt. it has a snout
16)[line 45]פרוסPARUS- the upper lip and jaw spread beyond the lower lip and jaw
40b----------------------------------------40b
17)[line 13]בלום, מבולמותBALUM, MEVULAMOS- (O.F. enjarpled) too narrow; alt. puffed up
18)[line 14]הרוחREVACH- [lack of] space; alt. Girsa: HA'RU'ACH - expelled air
19)[line 14]חסחסותCHASCHASUS- cartilage
20)[line 16]קטינאKETINA- very small and thin
21)[line 16]כריכאKERICHA- rounded
22)[line 16]אלימאALIMA- strong
23)[line 21]יבלתYABELES- (O.F. verrue) wart
24)[line 22]שנפרק עצמו של פיוSHE'NIFRAK ATZMO SHEL PIV- the bone of the mouth in which the teeth are set came apart
25)[line 30]התילוליןHA'TILTULIN- the thin, hanging pieces of skin
26)[line 35]כפולK'POL- equal in size to a bean
27)[line 36]ערקובARKUV- the knee-joint
28)[line 36]נמתחותNIMTACHOS- they are stretched [in growth]