One who discharges thick drops from his member is impure, according to Rabbi Elazar Chisma. One who had [sexual] thoughts at night, and woke up and found his flesh was warm, is impure. A woman who discharges semen on the third day [since intercourse, including that day] is pure [i.e. even with only two nights and one day in between intercourse and the discharge], according to Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. Rabbi Yishmael says: there are times [when she is pure] when there must be four time periods [in between; i.e. according to Rabbi Yishmael she is not pure until the fourth day, meaning there have to have been at least two nights and two days between intercourse and having the discharge], times when there must be five time periods [in between, i.e. two nights and three days], and times when there must be six time periods [in between, i.e. three nights and three days, for example if she had intercourse at the start of Shabbat night, she is only pure if she has the discharge on Tuesday night or later]. Rabbi Akiva says: there must always be five [time periods in between, before she is considered pure].
Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
המהרהר בלילה – and he sees [in his dream] that he is coming upon (i.e., having sex with) a woman (see Talmud Niddah 43a) and when he wakes up from his sleep, he found that his flesh (i.e., his member) is hot and he didn’t find a drop of an emission.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Mikvaot
If he emitted thick drops from his member, he is unclean, the words of Rabbi Elazar Hisma. Thick drops are characteristic of semen (I refuse to disclose my sources on this one). Therefore, if he emits thick drops, even at the beginning of the stream (see yesterday's mishnah), he is unclean.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
טמא – certainly he saw an emission but it was lost in its minuteness in the clothing.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Mikvaot
If one had sexual dreams in the night and arose and found his flesh heated, he is unclean. His flesh is a euphemism for his penis (see Leviticus 15:2, every language seems to have an abundance of these words). If he has sexual dreams at night and he wakes up and finds his flesh warm, he can assume that he had an emission, even if he doesn't find any other signs.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
הפולטת שכבת זרע ביום השלישי טהורה – as for example, that he had sex with her on Wednesday [night] and Friday [night] and she discharged [semen] on Shabbat, it doesn’t make a difference that he had engaged in sex with her at the beginning of Thursday night, that the semen remained in her womb four complete periods: Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night and Friday, nor whether he had intercourse with her on Thursday at darkness, and it did not remain in her other than part of Thursday and Thursday night and Friday, for there are only two complete periods, for the period is either the day or the night.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Mikvaot
If a woman discharged semen on the third day, she is clean, the words of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah. Rabbi Ishmael says: sometimes there are four time periods, and sometimes five, and sometimes six. Rabbi Akiva says: there are always five. Semen defiles not only the man, but also a woman with whom he has had sexual intercourse (see Leviticus 15:18). The question asked here is how long the semen that is inside her counts as semen such that it defiles her. According to Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, by the third day the semen inside her has deteriorated enough such that it doesn't count as semen. If she has some discharge, she is not impure. A time period is either a day or a night. Rabbi Ishmael holds that a woman who has discharge on the third day is impure, but one who has discharge on the fourth day is pure. Therefore, sometimes there can be four time periods in which she is impure. For instance if she has relations on late Sunday afternoon, the discharge is impure through Wednesday morning, which is four full time periods (Sunday night, Monday day, Monday night, Tuesday day). But if she has relations at the beginning of Sunday morning, then Sunday day counts as another time period, and there are five. And if she has relations on Saturday night at the beginning of the night, then Saturday night counts as one of the time periods, and there will be six time periods. Rabbi Akiva says that the time is set by the number of periods between the time she had relations and the time that she discharges the semen. If she discharges within five time periods, she is impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
ר' ישמעאל – comes to dispute and to say that she discharges [semen] on the third day [following] her intercourse, she is [ritually] impure, but if she discharges on the fourth, she is [ritually] pure. However, he admits that part of a day is considered as a complete day, for the Torah was not stringent other than in the number of days but not in the number of periods.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
ופעמים שהן ארבע עונות שלימות – as for example if he had sex with her on the night of [Thursday] at dark, her emission makes her [ritually] impure until the beginning of Friday night.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
ופעמים שהם חמש עונות – as for example, if he engaged in sex with her at the beginning of Wednesday at dawn, and her discharge [ of semen] is [ritually] impure until Friday night.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
ופעמים שהם שש – as for example, he engaged in sex with her at the beginning of Tuesday evening, and she is [ritually] impure until the beginning of Friday night, it was found to be six complete periods.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Mikvaot
ר' עקיבא אומר לעולם חמש – [five] periods, and if it part of it came out in the first period, we give her part of the sixth period to complete the five periods, for every [woman] discharges [semen] within five complete periods is [ritually] impure. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah.
