Commentary for Oholot 7:5
יָצָא הָרִאשׁוֹן מֵת וְהַשֵּׁנִי חַי, טָהוֹר. הָרִאשׁוֹן חַי וְהַשֵּׁנִי מֵת, טָמֵא. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, בְּשָׁפִיר אֶחָד, טָמֵא. בִּשְׁנֵי שְׁפִירִים, טָהוֹר:
If the first one came out dead and the second one alive he is pure, if the first one came out alive and the second dead he is impure. Rabbi Meir says if they were in one placenta he is impure, if they were in two he is pure.
Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
יצא האשון מת – the first fetus came out dead and the second fetus came out alive.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Introduction
Our mishnah deals with a woman who gives birth to twins, one alive and one a stillborn. The question is: does the stillborn defile the live child?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
טהור – the second living [fetus] is [pure] from defilement through contact with a corpse. If they removed the dead [fetus] from the house prior to the second birth, that while it was still in the womb of its mother, it is not defiled, even though the womb was opened, for a pure object that has been swallowed does not defile.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
If [at the birth of twins] the first came out dead and the second came out alive, the [live one] is clean. If a woman gives birth to twins and the first comes out dead, the second is pure because before the womb was opened, the dead fetus does not convey impurity. The live child was not made impure in the womb. [Note that they would have had to remove the stillborn from the house before the second child was born, otherwise the live child would be defiled by being in the same house as the dead child.]
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
הראשון חי והשני מת טמא – and even though they removed the living [first child] from the house prior to the birth of the dead [second child], for since the live child came out, the womb was opened and became defiled immediately, for the defilement leaves at the en
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
If the first was alive and the second dead, the [live child] is unclean. If the first was alive, and then the dead child was born, the live child is impure because once the womb has been opened, the dead child defiles things outside of the womb. Thus as soon as the first child is born, it is immediately defiled.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
בשפיר אחד טמא – meaning to say, if both of them came out similar to one membrane (i.e., sack of a fetus), that they came out at the same time, it is impure. שפיר/sack of a fetus is the placenta that the fetus is placed on.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Rabbi Meir says: if they were in one sac, [the live child] is unclean, but if there were two sacs, it remains clean. Rabbi Meir qualifies the halakhah in section two. It is only correct if both children were in one sac, because in that case, when the womb for the live child has opened, the womb for the stillborn has also opened. But if the two children are in different sacs, then the first child remains clean because the dead child is still sealed in the womb when the first child is born alive.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
בשני שפירין- meaning to say, similar to two membranes one after the other, even if the first is alive and the second is dead. טהור – for Rabbi Meir holds that even though the womb was opened, it doesn’t defile until it (i.e., the fetus) exists to the airspace of the world. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir.
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