There are ten [cases] of houses. If it dulls during the first [week] or goes away, he scrapes it off and it is pure. If it dulls during the second [week] or goes away, he scrapes it off and it requires [sacrificial] birds. If it spreads in the first [week], he removes, scrapes and plasters and gives it a week. If it returns, [the house] must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If it stood [unchanged] after the first [week] and spread during the second [week], he removes, scrapes and plasters, and gives it a week. If it returned, the house must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If it stood [unchanged] after this [first] and this [second week], he removes, scrapes, and plasters, and gives it a week. If it returns, the house must be destroyed. If it does not return, it requires birds. If before he purified it with birds the <i>Nega</i> [diseased patch on skin, clothes, or houses that creates impurity] reappeared, it must be destroyed. Once it has been purified with birds, if the <i>Nega</i> reappears, it should be examined as if in the beginning [of the <i>Nega</i>].
Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
עשרה בתים. הכהה בראשון (ten conditions which develop concerning plagues in houses) – at the end of the first week it grows dim, or the plague goes away completely. These are two plagues, for they are considered as two.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
Introduction
I bet you are excited to learn that chapter thirteen continues to discuss negaim that afflict houses!
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
קולפו – he scrapes it (between one stone and another) in the place of a plague alone, and the house is pure/clean.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
This mishnah goes through the entire procedure of inspecting houses for a nega and categorizes them into ten different situations.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
הכהה – at the end of the second week, and it goes away completely. Two others, that makes four.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
There are ten [laws concerning the negaim in] houses: (1 + 2) If during the first week a nega became faint or disappeared, it must be scraped and is then clean. These are the first two laws concerning affected houses. If the nega grows fainter or disappears entirely during the first week, then all he must do is scrape the place where the nega was and the house is clean.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
הפושה בשבוע ראשון חולץ וקוצה וטח ונותן לו שבוע (if it spreads in the first week, he must tear out – the leprous stone – and scrape – the wall – and plaster and give it a week) – but if it (i.e., the plague) returned, he tears it down by chipping off his part of the house. This is five.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
(3 + 4) If during the second week it became faint or disappeared, it must be scraped and the owner must bring the birds. If it grows faint or disappears after the second week, he needs to scrape the stones, but in this case he also has to bring bird sacrifice (see Leviticus 14:49).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
לא חזר טעון צפרים – this makes six.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
If it spread during the first week, the stones must be taken out and the wall scraped and plastered, and another week must be allowed. (5) If it then returned the entire house must be pulled down; (6)If it did not return, the birds must be brought. If it spread during the first week, he must remove the affected stones as we learned in yesterday's mishnah. If the nega returns, then the house must be torn down. This is situation 5. If it doesn't return, then he must still bring the bird sacrifices (situation 6).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
עמד בעיניו בשבוע ראשון ופשה בשני חולץ וקוצה וטח ונותן לו שבוע – if it returned, he tears it down by chipping. This makes seven.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
If it remained unchanged during the first week but spread during the second week, the stones must be taken out and the wall scraped and plastered, and another week must be allowed. (7) If it then returned, the house must be pulled down; (8) If it did not return the birds must be brought. This section addresses a scenario we have not yet talked about. If the nega doesn't spread during the first week, then he doesn't need to scrape the stones clean at the end of that week. The isolation continues and then it spreads during the second week. In this case, another week is given. Otherwise, this is the same as section three. We are now through 8 types.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
לא חזר טעון צפרים – this makes eight.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
If it remained unchanged in both weeks, the stones must be taken out, and the wall scraped and plastered, and a week must be allowed. (9) If it then returned the house must be pulled down; (10) If it did not return, the birds must be brought. Now we learn the rule if the nega remains unchanged through two full weeks. Although it did not spread, since it still remained, the affected stones are removed. Following this, the procedure is the same as above. If it returns, the house is torn down, if not only sacrificial birds must be brought.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
עמד בעיניו בשבוע ראשון ובשבוע שני, חולץ וקוצה וטח ונותן לו שבוע – that the law for remaining unchanged in the second week is like the law of spreading, if it returned, he tears it down by chipping. This is nine.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
If before cleanness was attained through the birds a new nega appeared, the house must be pulled down; But if it appeared after cleanness through the birds had been attained, it must be inspected as if it had appeared for the first time. If the house is clean but before sacrificial birds are brought a new nega appears, it counts as a return of the old nega and the house must be torn down. If however, the birds are sacrificed and then the nega appears, it counts as a new nega, and the whole procedure begins again.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
לא חזר טעון צפרים – this makes ten.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
אם עד שלא טיהרו בצפרים נראה בו נגע – this is like [the plague] returns, and requires cutting out/breaking up, but from when he purifies it, it is for him like a new plague and he shuts it up/quarantines it.
