Kiddushin 16B

למטה.

with regard to the minimum age at which these signs are taken into consideration. In other words, there is a lower limit, as any signs of puberty before a certain age are ignored.

דתניא: בן תשע שנים שהביא שתי שערות ⁠– שומא, מבן תשע שנים ויום אחד עד בן שתים עשרה שנה ויום אחד ועודן בו ⁠– שומא, רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה אומר: סימן. בן שלש עשרה שנה ויום אחד ⁠– דברי הכל סימן.

As it is taught in a baraita: Everyone agrees with regard to a 9-year-old boy who developed two pubic hairs that this is not considered a sign of adulthood, as they are treated as hairs that grow on a mole. From the age of 9 years and one day until the age of 12 years and one day, even if they are still on him and have not fallen out, this is still considered a mole. R' Yosei, son of R' Yehuda, says: It is a sign indicating puberty. If he is 13 years and one day old and grows two hairs, everyone agrees that this is a sign indicating puberty.

מתיב רב ששת: רבי שמעון אומר: ארבעה מעניקים להם, שלשה באיש, ושלשה באשה. ואי אתה יכול לומר ארבעה באחד, לפי שאין סימנים באיש, ואין רציעה באשה.

Rav Sheshet raises an objection: It is taught in a baraita that R' Shimon says: There are 4 different ways of emancipating slaves, and when they are emancipated one grants them a severance gift. Of these, 3 apply to a man, i.e., a Hebrew slave, and 3 apply to a woman, a Hebrew female slave. And you cannot say that there are 4 ways for either one of them, because there is no emancipation through signs indicating puberty for a man, and there is no emancipation through piercing the ear for a woman. Consequently, there are only 3 modes of emancipation for each.

ואם איתא, ניתני נמי מיתת אב! וכי תימא הכא נמי תנא ושייר, והא ארבעה קתני! וכי תימא תנא דבר שיש לו קצבה קתני ודבר שאין לו קצבה לא קתני, והא סימנין, דאין להם קצבה, וקתני!

The Talmud clarifies the difficulty: And if it is so that a Hebrew female slave acquires herself through her father’s death, as claimed by Reish Lakish, let him teach also that a Hebrew female slave is emancipated at the death of the father. And if you would say, here too he taught some differences between a Hebrew slave and a Hebrew female slave and omitted others, this cannot be the case, as he teaches: There are 4 ways of emancipating slaves. The mention of a number indicates that there is a set number of ways. And if you would say that the tanna teaches a matter that has a set time and does not teach a matter that does not have a set time, as there is the halakha of signs indicating puberty, which do not have a set time, and nevertheless he teaches it.