Study Bava Batra folio 24A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
בשביל של כרמים; דאם איתא דמעלמא אתי, כיון דמידדי – לא מצי אתי; דכל דמידדי והדר חזי ליה לקיניה – מידדי, ואי לא – לא מידדי.
We are dealing with a path that passes between vineyards, and these two dovecotes are situated there. As, if it is so that you claim the chick came from anywhere else in the world, since it only hops, it could not have come there. The reason is that any bird that hops and turns and sees its nest will continue to hop; but if it does not see its nest because it has gone too far, it will not hop farther. Consequently, this found chick that hops must have come from one of these two dovecotes.
אמר אביי, אף אנן נמי תנינא: דם שנמצא בפרוזדור – ספיקו טמא, שחזקתו מן המקור. ואף על גב דאיכא עלייה, דמקרבא!
Abaye said: We learn in a Mishnah (Nidda 17b) as well that one follows the majority rather than proximity: With regard to blood that is found in the corridor [baperozdor], i.e., the cervical canal, and it is uncertain whether or not it is menstrual blood, it is ritually impure as menstrual blood, as there is a presumption that it came from the uterus, which is the source of menstrual blood. And this is the halakha even though there is an upper chamber, which empties into the canal, which is closer.
אמר ליה רבא: רוב ומצוי קא אמרת? רוב ומצוי ליכא למאן דאמר.
Rava said to Abaye, in response to this claim: You state a proof from a case where the factors of majority and frequency are both present. When there is majority and frequency, there is no one who says that one ignores the majority and follows proximity. Here, not only is the blood from the uterus greater in quantity, it also passes through the canal more frequently, as blood generally does not come from the upper chamber.