One who sees a <i>keri</i> [seminal discharge] on the third day of counting after after his <i> zavut</i> {abnormal seminal discharge], Beit Shammai say, it voids the two [clean] days that preceded it [and he must start counting again], Beit Hillel say it only voids that day [and he can continue his count the next day]. Rabbi Yishmael says, If he saw it on the second day it voids the preceding day. Rabbi Akiva says, it makes no difference if he saw it on the second day or third day, [in either case] Beit Shammai say it voids the two preceding days, and Beit Hillel say it only voids that day. They agree, however, that if he saw it on the fourth day [of his counting] it only voids that day [provided that what] he saw was a seminal emission. If, however, if he saw an abnormal seminal discharge emission, even on the seventh day, it voids [all] previous days.
Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
ביום השלישי לספירת זובו – as for example, a personw ho two sightings who needs to count seven clean [days], and he counted the first and the second, and on the third saw an emission, it invalidates the two days that preceded it, and he returns and counts seven [days] like at the outset.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
Introduction
A zav must wait for seven clean days to become pure. Our mishnah deals with a man who during those seven days in which he is supposed to be clean sees a discharge of semen.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
לא סתר אלא יומו – and he counts five [days] to complete the seven, for the first two did not count for him.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
If one sees an issue of semen on the third day of counting his zov: Bet Shammai says: it undoes the two preceding days; But Bet Hillel says: it undoes only that day. Bet Shammai holds that if he has a seminal discharge on the third day of waiting to become clean from his zov, the first two days of cleanness are undone. He must now start his count over again. Bet Hillel says it only undoes the day on which he experienced the discharge. After that day he may resume his count.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
הרואה בשני – that he counted one [clean day], and on the second saw an emission, he invalidated that which was before it, even according to the School of Hillel, but Rabbi Akiba holds that in this also they disagree. But the Halakah is not according to Rabbi Yishmael.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
Rabbi Ishmael says: one who sees it on the second day, it undoes the preceding day. Rabbi Ishmael says that even Bet Hillel agrees that if one sees a seminal discharge on the second day, it undoes the first day. He must have two days of cleanness for them not to be undone.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
ומודים – The School of Shammai. ברואה קרי ברביעי שלא סתר אלא יומו – that those that were before it counted for him. For specifically when the fluxes were not interrupted with three clean days, according to the number of days that makes a person a complete זב, it is this case where the School of Shammai states that the effusion of semen invalidates it, but after three pure days have passed, the School of Shammai agrees that an emission does not invalidate anything other than that day, and in this that one calls that a person with gonorrhea invalidates, one derives from Scripture, as it is written (Leviticus 15:32): “This is the ritual concerning him who has a discharge: concerning him who has an emission of semen and becomes impure thereby.” Just as flux invalidates, even effusion of semen invalidates. If just as a flux invalidates everything, so the effusion of semen invalidates everything, the inference teaches us (Leviticus 15:32): "לטמאה בה"/”and become pure thereby,” she only has one day. But if he saw a flux, even on the seventh day, it invalidates what is before it, as it is written (Leviticus 15:13): “[he shall count off] seven days for his purification,” until all seven days would be pure from the discharges.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
But Rabbi Akiva says: it matters not whether he saw it on the second day or on the third day: Bet Shammai says: it undoes the two preceding days; And Bet Hillel says: it undoes only that day. Rabbi Akiva disagrees with Rabbi Ishmael and maintains that according to Bet Hillel it doesn't matter whether the seminal discharge occurred on the third or second day; in both cases Bet Hillel holds that it causes only that day not to count.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
But they agree that if he saw it on the fourth day [of counting] it undoes only that day. The two houses agree that if he counted three full days of cleanness, they are not undone by seeing a seminal discharge. This is because three days is the amount of time it takes one to become a zav in the first place.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
This is if he saw semen; but he saw zov, then even if this had occurred on the seventh day, it undoes all the days that had preceded. However, this is only true if he had a discharge of semen. The two houses argue whether and when a discharge of semen undoes the clean period for a zav. But if he sees another issue of zov, clearly this undoes the entire clean period and he must start the count all over again.
