Study Nazir folio 16A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ואמר ליה: רבי יוסי קאי כותיך, דאמר מכאן ולהבא מטמא. והא רבי יוסי למפרע הוא דאמר! מאי למפרע — מדרבנן.
And R' Oshaya said to R' Yoḥanan: R' Yosei holds in accordance with your opinion, as he too says that in this case one becomes impure from now and onward, and any impurity after the start of the 7th day does not cause him to forfeit the previous clean days. The Talmud analyzes R' Oshaya’s statement: But didn’t R' Yosei say that the impurity is retroactive, as stated above? Rather, R' Oshaya must certainly hold as follows: What is the meaning of R' Yosei’s ruling that he is impure retroactively? It means that he is rendered impure only by rabbinic law, but not by Torah law.
The Talmud poses a question with regard to R' Yosei’s statement: And as to R' Yosei, now, he holds that the status of part of the day is like that of an entire day. How can you find a full-fledged zava who brings an offering? Since she sees a discharge at the midpoint of the day, the other half of the day counts for her as a full day of observing, as part of the day is considered to be like all of a day. The Talmud answers: If you wish, say that she continuously discharges blood for 3 days consecutively. And if you wish, say that she saw a discharge on 3 consecutive days close to sunset. In that case she is impure on each occasion at the end of one day and the beginning of the next, so that there was not any time to become pure on the following day so as to be included for her counting of a clean day corresponding to an impure one.