[Avodah] length of pregnancy

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Mon Jun 25 15:10:34 PDT 2012


On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 06:08:46PM +0300, Eli Turkel wrote:
: In a recent daf yomi (Nidah 38a) Rav Yehuda claims that birth occurs after
: rosh chodesh of the 9th month.
: Shmuel disagrees and says that a birth can occur only after 271,272 or 273
: days.
: 
: Any explanations of either shitah?...

The following would be of no help, but you reminded me...

On today's daf, Y-mi Yevamos 2:4 (vilna 24a-b), it learns from the time
delay required between petirah and yibum a list of things, among them
"sheha'ishah yolefes lachadashim mequta'im" -- it doesn't have to be a
whole (integer) number of months. (Also that pregnant women can't get
pregnant again, and that one baby can't be conceived via two fathers.)

Also, the Y-mi (24b) distinguishes between a 7 month term fetus that is
born late in the 8th month, and a 9 month term fetus born a month early.
    Notzar le7 venolad lishmonah, chayei.
    Kol shekein letish'ah.
    Notzar letish'ah venolad lishmonah, einu chayei...

And where to we know that there are two kinds of yestziros? R' Ze'ira
(a/ka/ R' Zeira) besheim R' Huna, from "vayiytzer" (BVereishis 12) --
a yud for each sort of gestation.

Anyway, it would seem to be implied by this Y-mi (as it is from modern
medicine) that you would be mechalal shabbos for an 8th month fetus,
because maybe it's a 7-monther being born late.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             If you won't be better tomorrow
micha at aishdas.org        than you were today,
http://www.aishdas.org   then what need do you have for tomorrow?
Fax: (270) 514-1507              - Rebbe Nachman of Breslov



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