Study Nazir folio 66A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר רבא: לא תימא ספק חזא ספק לא חזא. אלא ודאי חזא, ספק מחמת שכבת זרע, ספק מחמת ראייה. כיון שנזקק לטומאה — ספיקו טמא.
Rava said: Do not say that it is uncertain whether he saw a discharge and uncertain whether he did not see one. The uncertainty is not with regard to whether he experienced a discharge at all. Rather, he certainly saw a discharge, but it is uncertain whether the discharge was due to, i.e., defined as, an emission of semen, and it is uncertain whether the discharge was due to the sighting of ziva. In this case, once he has been confirmed as being ritually impure as a zav, his uncertain case is also impure.
שכבת זרעו טמאה. למאי? אילימא למגע — מי גרע משכבת זרע דטהור? אלא זרעו של זב מטמא במשא.
§ The Mishnah taught that his semen is impure. The Talmud asks: With regard to what halakha is the Mishnah stating that the semen of a zav is impure? If we say that this is referring to the impurity of contact, i.e., this semen renders one who touches it impure, there is no need to teach this halakha. Is it any worse than the semen of a pure man, which also imparts impurity through contact? Rather, the Mishnah is teaching that the semen of a zav renders people impure even by carrying, like the impurity of ziva.
מאן שמעת להא דאמר שכבת זרע של זב מטמא במשא? אילימא האי תנא, דתניא, רבי אליעזר אומר: שכבת זרעו של זב אינו מטמא במשא, ורבי יהושע אומר: מטמא במשא, לפי שאי אפשר לה בלא ציחצוחי זיבה. אפילו רבי יהושע לא אמר אלא משום ציחצוחי זיבה, אבל בעיניה, לא אמר!
The Talmud asks: Who did you hear that said that the semen of a zav renders one impure by carrying? If we say it is this tanna, as it is taught in a baraita that R' Eliezer says: The semen of a zav does not render one impure by carrying, and R' Yehoshua says: It does render one impure by carrying, because it is impossible for his semen to be without droplets of ziva; yet this source is no proof, as even R' Yehoshua said that this semen imparts impurity by carrying only due to the droplets of ziva it contains. However, he did not say that semen in its unadulterated form renders people impure.