Comentario sobre Niddah 5:10

יוצא דופן – a woman [whose womb] they opened through a drug and they removed the fetus and then she healed.

For a fetus born from its mother's side, she does not sit the prescribed days of uncleanness nor the days of cleanness, nor does one incur on its account the obligation to bring a sacrifice. Rabbi Shimon says: it is regarded as a regular birth. A fetus born from its mother's side is one born through a caesarean section. I am not sure how frequently a mother would even live through such an operation in the ancient world, but if she did, she is not impure (1 week for a male or two weeks for a female) nor does she have any days in which discharged blood is pure. Basically, if the child is not born in the normal way, it is not considered a birth and the purity rules relevant to childbirth do not apply. Rabbi Shimon disagrees and says that a caesarean section is considered a normal birth.

אין יושבין עליו ימי טומאה – seven [days] for [the birth of] a male and fourteen [days] for a female.

All women are subject to uncleanness [as soon as the blood appears] in the outer chamber, as it says, "her discharge being blood in her body" (Leviticus 15:19). But a zav and one who emitted semen convey no uncleanness unless the discharge came out of the body. A woman (niddah or zavah) is impure as soon as the blood reaches the outer chamber, which I assume means the vagina. The blood need not flow out for her to be impure. This is midrashically read into the word "in her body." In contrast, men are impure only when the semen or other discharge has left the penis.

וימי טהרה – she does not have blood of purity.

ואין חייבין עליו קרבן – of a child-bearing mother, as it is written (Leviticus 12:2): “When a woman at childbirth bears a male, [she shall be impure seven days; she has be impure as at the time of her menstrual infirmity],” until she gives birth from the place where she emits a secretion at coition.

רבי שמעון אומר הרי זה כילוד (like one born naturally) – as it states (Leviticus 12:5): “ If she bears a female, [she shall be impure two weeks as during her menstruation, and she shall remain in a state of blood purification for sixty-six days],” to include that which goes for from the side (i.e., delivered by Caesarean section). But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

כל השנים מיטמאות – as a menstruating woman/נדה from when the blood goes out from the interior of the womb where the menses are discharged and reached the vagina/בית החיצון , but even though the enclosures of the womb preserved it and it did not pass outwards. As it is written (Leviticus 15:19): “[When a woman has a discharge,] her discharge being blood from her body/דם יהיה זבה מבשרה,” it teaches that she defiles even though it is still within her body,” and the vagina/בית החיצון is called the place where the limb threshes (i.e., euphemism for sexual contact) at the time of sexual intercourse.

אינן מטמאין עד שתצא טומאתן לחוץ – as is written concerning a person with gonorrhea/בזב (Leviticus 15:2): “When any man has a discharge issuing from his member/איש איש כי יהיה זב מבשרו, [he is impure],” until his flux leaves from his flesh, but regarding someone with a [nocturnal] emission, it is written (Leviticus 15:16 – the printed edition incorrectly lists chapter 22): “When a man has an emission of semen/ואיש אשר תצא ממנו שכבת זרע, [he shall bathe his whole body in water and remain impure until evening].”

שנזדעזעו איבריו – that semen was removed from his body.

If he was eating terumah when he felt that his limbs shook, he should take hold of his member and swallow the terumah. If a man is eating terumah and he feels himself about to ejaculate (his limbs are shaking) he should squeeze his penis so that he doesn't ejaculate quite yet and then swallow the terumah. If he ejaculates while terumah is still in his mouth, the terumah will become impure. [I realize, this is a bit strange and I'm not sure if it's realistic. It would also take a large degree of control to accomplish this, but I guess anything's possible.]

אוחז באמה – and even though that whomever grabs hold of his membrum virile and urinates it is as if he brings a flood to the world, here since semen was removed, it does not return and he warms himself (i.e., masturbates) to immediately remove more at that time.

And it conveys uncleanness however small the quantity, even if it is only of the size of a mustard seed or less. Any amount of genital discharge (zivah, menstrual blood and semen), even an amount smaller than a mustard seed, defiles.

ומטמאין – flux and semen,

At a miniscule amount, to a person that it comes out from. But coming into contact [through touching], that person is not impure until he touches a lentil’s bulk (i.e., usually, the standard size, which is the Egyptian lentil. See Tractate Kelim, Chapter 17, Mishnah 8).

מיטמאה בנדה – if she (i.e., a one-day-old girl) saw blood.

Introduction The remainder of this chapter goes through developmental stages of children and notes when they are obligated or subject to various laws.

בת עשרה ימים מיטמאה בזיבה – if she saw it (i.e., blood) on three consecutive days after the seven [days of Niddah menstruation]. For all blood that she sees within seven days is the blood of Niddah/menstruating woman, therefore, it is impossible for her to become defiled through her flux – that is, to become having a large flux until ten days [have passed].

A girl one day old defiles due to menstruation. If for some reason a baby girl begins to menstruate, the blood can count as menstrual blood which defiles. I realize that this is highly unlikely, but what the rabbis are in essence saying is that there is no age at which we could consider menstrual blood to be something else.

תינוק בן יום אחד מיטמא בזיבה – as it is written (Leviticus 15:2): “When any man has a discharge issuing/איש איש כי יהיה זב [from his member, he is impure],” that teaches about a one-day-old male child that becomes unclean through contact with gonorrhea.

A girl ten days old defiles due to zivah. However, she must be ten days old for any bloody discharge to possibly count as zivah, non-menstrual blood. This is because if she bled for the first seven days of her life, it would count as niddah. Then to become a zavah, she must bleed three straight days not during the time of her period. So in order for her to become a zavah she would have to be 10 days old.

ומיטמא בנגעים – for concerning plagues it is written (Leviticus 13:2): “When a person has on the skin of his body/אדם כי-יהיה בעור-בשרו [a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scale affection on the skin of his body],” but a male baby who is one-day-old is a person, for implies a person of any sort [of age].

A boy one day old defiles due to zivah, and defiles due to scale disease and due to corpse uncleanness; A boy on the other hand can't be a niddah (obviously). Therefore, if he has bloody discharge from his penis, he can be a zav immediately. Similarly, other types of defilement need not wait until he is older. If he has scale disease (negaim) he is impure and he conveys impurity; the same is true if he dies his corpse defiles.

ומיטמא בטמא מת – as it is written (Numbers 19:18): “and people who were there/ועל-הנפשות אשר היו-שם,” a person of any sort [of age].

He subjects [his deceased brother's widow] to yibbum [levirate marriage]; If he has a brother who dies childless, his brother's wife is subject to yibbum with him. She will have to wait until he is old enough to perform yibbum or halitzah.

וזוקק ליבום (and imposes requirement of levirate marriage) – if he was born one day prior to the death of his brother. But if he was born after the death of his brother, he does impose the requirement [of levirate marriage], as it is written (Deuteronomy 25:5 – though the printed edition lists Chapter 28): “When brothers dwell together/כי-ישבו אחים יחדיו [and one of them dies and leaves no son, the wife of he deceased shall not be married to a stranger, outside the family.],that they had one dwelling [together] in the world.

He exempts [his mother] from yibbum, If a man dies and he has a child who is even one day old, his wife is not subject to yibbum.

ופוטר מן היבום (and frees [a sister-in-law from the requirement of levirate marriage) – if he was born after the death of his father and lived one day and die. But all the time that she is pregnant, she is not permitted to marry.

He enables her to eat terumah If the father was a kohen and he dies, his wife can continue eating terumah by virtue of her son.

ומאכיל בתרומה – a Jewish daughter that married a Kohen and [he died], and a son was born after his death, she consumes [heave-offering] for him on the day that he was born, as it is written (Leviticus 22:11): “and those that are born into his household may eat of his food”/ויליד ביתו הם יאכלו בלחמו , and we expound upon it that they feed their mother. But if she was left pregnant [when he died], she does not eat for him (i.e., the unborn fetus) until he is born.

And he disqualifies her from eating terumah; If the father was not a kohen and the wife was, and the father dies, because she has a son she does not go back to her father's home to continue to eat terumah. Her one day old son disqualifies her from eating terumah.

ופוסל מן התרומה – as for example a Kohen that had two wives, one who was divorced that he transgressed and married when she was a divorcee and one who was not divorced, and he has children from the one who was not divorced, but servants that fell to them through inheritance consume heave-offering for them, as it is written (Leviticus 22:11): ‘but a person who is a priest’s property by purchase may eat of them”/וכהן כי-יקנה נפש קנין כספו הוא יאכל בו, and he has a son one day from the woman who was divorced [at the time of their marriage] and he is a חלל/son born to a priest and a woman whom the priest is forbidden to marry [and that child is considered an Israelite – and his daughter or widow may not marry a priest], but he has a portion in the servants, but he invalidates all of them from [consuming] the heave-offering, for there is no choice to know to which of them gets his portion, and especially a child who is one-day old who is worthy of inheritance. But all the while that he is not [yet] born, everyone consumes [heave-offering], for there is no claim/possession for a fetus.

He inherits and transmits inheritance; If a woman dies on the day her son is born, the son inherits his mother's estate. If the son dies on the same day he can transmit his mother's inheritance to his paternal brother. In this way, the mother's estate can shift to her husband's child from another wife, all within one day.

ונוחל ומנחיל – and he inherits the mother. If his mother died on the day that he was born, he inherits her. But when he dies, his brothers from his father and inherit from him the property of his mother, but the fetus that is her womb, if she dies pregnant, he does not inherit his mother to transmit by legal succession/inheritance to his brothers from his father, for he died prior to his mother, and a son does not inherit his mother in the grave to transmit succession to his brothers from his father.

He who kills him is guilty of murder, A one-day old is fully alive therefore one who kills him is liable for murder.

וההורגו חייב – as it is written (Leviticus 24:17): “If anyone kills any human being/ואיש כי-יכה כל-נפש אדם, [shall be put to death],” in any case.

And he counts to his father, to his mother and to all his relatives as a fully grown man. This is basically just a summary of the entire mishnah a one day old child is a full living human being. We might add that there may be a polemic here against the common Greco-Roman tolerance of infanticide. As is well-known, Greek thought allowed for the killing of unwanted babies. The rabbis did not tolerate such a position. At the moment of birth a child is a full human being.

כחתן שלם - that they are obligated to mourn over him, and these words, that I am sure about this person that he completed his months [of being alive beyond pregnancy], but if he is not certain about this person that he completed his months [of being alive beyond pregnancy], they are not obligated to mourn over him until he will be thirty-one days old.

מתקדשת בביאה – if her father handed her over for this.

Introduction This mishnah teaches that in a legal sense, sexual relations with a girl over the age of three counts as sexual relations. I should emphasize that this mishnah in no way condones such an act (which is certainly rape) it just teaches that this counts as an act of intercourse. At the core of this notion is their understanding of the physical consequences of intercourse for the first time namely the breaking of the woman's hymen. As we can see at the end of the mishnah, if a girl has intercourse (i.e. is raped) before the age of three her hymen will repair itself. After the age of three, it will not. This, to the rabbis, means that after the age of three, intercourse "counts" in a legal sense. Before the age of three, it does not. Having taught this mishnah (and others like it) many times, I realize that this is a very sensitive issue. To talk about sex with young girls is very troubling. I certainly don't want people to read this and think that the rabbis thought that it was okay for men to have relations with little girls. As usual, the mishnah uses a clinical, emotionally distant tone. That's just the way the rabbis composed much of the mishnah.

ואם בא עליה יבם קנאה – to be his wife for every matter, and he inherits her and defiles her and takes possession of the property of his brother.

A girl of the age of three years and one day may be betrothed by intercourse and if a yavam had intercourse with her, he acquires her thereby. As stated above, intercourse with a girl over the age of three years counts as intercourse. Therefore, since betrothal may be performed by intercourse, she may also be betrothed in this way. If she is liable for yibbum (meaning her previous husband died without any offspring) and the yavam (her dead husband's brother) had intercourse with her, she becomes his wife. Again, this means that intercourse with her creates legal obligations and a legal relationship.

וחייבין עליה משום אשת איש – if her father received her betrothal for her from one, and another person came upon her [through an act of sexual intercourse], he is put to death on her account, for her act of sexual intercourse is sexual intercourse.

One can be liable for adultery with her; If her father marries her off to someone (this can be done even before three years old) and then another man has intercourse with her, he is liable for adultery and he would get the death penalty.

ומטמאה את בועלה – if she was a menstruating woman/Niddah. But less than this (i.e., three-years and one-day old), even though she dies through contact, she does not defile the person who had intercourse with her because of [the transgression of] a person who has intercourse with a menstruating woman would lead to seven-days of defilement [which does not apply], but because of contact it is defilement for an evening.

And she defiles the one who had intercourse with her so that he in turn conveys uncleanness to a couch underneath as to a cover above. If she is a niddah, she defiles one who has intercourse with her such that he would defile any number of couches or cushions upon which he sat. This was explained in 4:1.

תחתון – of a person who has intercourse with a menstruating woman.

If she was married to a priest, she may eat terumah. An Israelite woman married to a priest can eat terumah. Since this marriage counts, she can eat terumah.

כעליונו – of a person who has gonorrhea, which defiles food and liquids, but not persons or utensils.

If any of the disqualified men have relations with her he disqualifies her from the priesthood. If someone who is disqualified from the priesthood, such as a halal (a disqualified priest) or a non-Jew, has relations with her, he disqualifies her from subsequently marrying a priest. This is true of all women.

מן הפסולין – as for example, a heathen and a slave and a descendant of the Gibeonites (see Joshua 9:27) and a Mamzer or the child of a Kohen who married a divorcee.

If any of the forbidden relatives found in the Torah had relations with her he is to be executed on her account, but she is exempt [from the penalty]. If a man forbidden to her because of incest has relations with her, he gets the death penalty (as long as the incest was punishable by death). She, of course, is not punished because little children cannot be held accountable for their actions. Obviously, this was an act of rape.

פסלה – from [consuming] the heave-offering of her father, if she is the daughter of a Kohen.

If she was younger than this age, intercourse with her is like putting a finger in the eye. This is the concept I mentioned in the introduction. If one pokes someone in the eye, the eye tears up but returns to normal. So too, the rabbis believed that if one had intercourse with a girl younger than three, her hymen would repair itself. She would remain a "virgin" and therefore there are no legal consequences to relations with her.

מכל העריות – such as her father or her father-in-law.

והיא פטורה – because she is a minor and is not liable for punishments.

כנותן אצבע בעין – that he sheds tears and returns to the status that he was, even here, she returns to being a virgin like she was.

שבא על יבמתו קנאה- and he takes possession of the property of his brother. But even though it is not a complete acquisition/purchase, it is different here for it is from Heaven (i.e., from the Torah) that it was acquired by him.

Introduction Today's mishnah teaches that for a boy to be legally capable of intercourse, he must be 9 years old. Again, I should stress that this is a legal definition. The mishnah is not sanctioning boys having sex at that age. Indeed, I'm sure this was quite uncommon, if not completely unheard of. All they are saying is that a boy under that age is not legally capable of doing having sex. While a boy nine years of age can have legally consequential sex, he is not old enough to enter into verbal contracts. We shall see that this creates some interesting ramifications.

ואינו נותן גט עד שיגדיל – if he comes to divorce her, for the betrothal of his brother is a complete betrothal/Kiddushin, but the divorce of this one (i.e., the levir of nine years of age) is not a complete divorce. And especially when he came upon her (i.e., in terms of sexual intercourse) after he had grown up (i.e., reached the age of thirteen years and one day), it is enough for her with a Jewish bill of divorce. But if he had not come upon her after he had grown up, she needs a Jewish bill of divorce and Halitzah (i.e., the removal by he widow of a special sandal from the foot of one of the deceased husband’s brothers).

If a boy the age of nine years and one day had relations with his yevamah, he acquires her thereby; A yevamah, a woman whose husband has died without children, is acquired by the yavam, the brother of the dead husband, through sexual intercourse. What this means is that marriage with a yevam is done not through the money of kiddushin and then huppah, but through intercourse. Since a boy's intercourse at nine years counts, he can acquire his yevamah at that age. Note, he cannot marry a regular woman until he is of majority age.

ומטמא בנדה – if he came upon her while she was in her menstruating state (i.e., Niddah), for his act of sexual intercourse/coition is an act of sexual intercourse/coition in all manners.

But he cannot divorce her until he is of majority age. However, divorce is done through a written document and boys of this age do not have the legal ability to execute such documents. Therefore, he couldn't divorce her until he is of majority age.

ופוסל – as for example, a heathen and/or a slave or the son born to a Kohen and a woman to whom the Kohen is forbidden to marry who is nine years of age who comes upon the daughter of a Kohen , has invalidated her [from partaking] from the heave-offering of her father.

He contracts uncleanness through intercourse with a menstruant so that he in turn conveys uncleanness to a couch underneath as to a cover above. Since his intercourse counts, if he has relations with a niddah, he takes on the according level of impurity. This impurity was explained in 4:1.

ואינו מאכיל – if he is a Kohen and married an Israelite woman, he does not feed her heave-offering, because his acquisition [of her] is not a complete acquisition. And even if he a levir whose acquisition through this act of coition is as we stated, even so, he does not feed her heave-offering/Terumah.

He disqualifies a woman from the priesthood. If he is disqualified from being a priest, for instance he is a halal (a disqualified priest) or a mamzer, and he has relations with a woman, he disqualifies her from eating terumah.

ופוסל את הבהמה – if the beast copulates with her (i.e., a human) through the testimony of one witness.

But he doesn't give her the right to eat terumah. Since he can't legally marry a woman, he can't confer upon her the right to eat terumah if he is a priest. This is true even if the woman is his yevamah.

נסקלת על ידו – if there are two witnesses.

He renders a beast invalid for the altar, and it is stoned on his account. If he has sex with an animal (I know, this is a bit sick), the sex disqualifies use of the animal as a sacrifice. The animal with which he had sex is stoned on his account. Both of these rules are the usual rules for an animal that had sex with a human.

If he had intercourse with any of the forbidden relations mentioned in the Torah, she is to be executed on his account, but he is exempt from punishment. If he has intercourse with a woman prohibited to him by the Torah (adultery or incest) she is punished with the death penalty. He cannot, however, be punished until he is of majority age. To sum up this mishnah, it teaches that boys' physical ability precedes their legal liabilities, which are based on their mental capacities. While some of the details of this mishnah might be revolting and troubling, the essence seems to me quite prescient.

נדריה נבדקין (her vows are examined) – if she knew in the name of whom she took a vow and in the name of whom she dedicated [something to the Temple], her vow is a [legitimate] vow.

Introduction This mishnah deals with the age at which a child's vows are considered valid. This is an intellectual capacity and not a physical capacity as was the case in the first five mishnayot of the chapter. The vows discussed directly in this mishnah are biblical types of vows a vow to bring something to the Temple. However, the same laws apply to other types of vows as well. We should also note that the ages in this mishnah reflect what in modern times is known as the "bar/bat mitzvah." A celebration of this age did not occur in mishnaic/talmudic times, but the significance of the age was noted.

נדריה קיימין – as long as she brought forth two [pubic] hairs. And similarly, a male who is thirteen years and one day old, his vows are confirmed, especially if he brought forth two [pubic] hairs.

A girl of the age of eleven years and one day, her vows must be examined. A girl of the age of twelve years and one day, her vows are valid; And they examine them throughout the whole twelfth year. During a girls' twelfth year it is possible, although not certain, that she knows the meaning of her vows. Therefore if she makes a vow someone would have to ascertain that she understands its meaning. If she does, it is valid. Upon completing twelve years, meaning on her twelfth birthday (actually the day after), her vows are valid automatically.

ובודקין כל שתים עשרה – that you might have though since that as the Master stated, thirty-days in a year is considered a [full] year, where she was that she was examined thirty days prior to [her becoming] twelve [years of age and one day], and she didn’t know how to explain in the name of whom she had vowed, further we don’t examine [her] and she has the presumption of being a minor, this comes to teach us that this is not the case.

A boy the age of twelve years and one day, his vows must be examined. A boy the age of thirteen years and one day, is vow are valid. And they examine them throughout the whole thirteenth year. Boys mature one year slower than girls (personally, I think it takes a lot longer than this, but that's based on personal experience). Therefore, they are checked during their thirteenth year and a day after their thirteenth birthday their vows are automatically valid.

קודם לזמן הזה – prior to the beginning of the twelfth year of a female child and [prior to the beginning of the] thirteenth [year] of a male child.

Prior to this age, even though they said, "We know to whom we have made our vow" or "to whom we have made our dedication," their vow is not a valid vow and their dedication is not a valid dedication. Subsequent to this age, even though they said, "We do not know to whom we have made our vow" or "to whom we have made our vow," their vow is a valid vow and their dedication is a valid dedication. Prior to these ages, a child's vows don't count, even if they know the meaning of them. And subsequent to this age, the vows count, even if they don't know their meaning. The only age in which the matter is dependent upon their knowledge, is the twelfth year for the girl and the thirteenth year for the boy.

אין נדריהם נדר – for they are minors.

פגה – סמדר/in the budding stage, like (Song of Songs 2:13): “The green figs form on the fig tree/התאנה חנטה פגיה, [The vines in blossom/סמדר give off fragrance] Such is the young female child that lacks a sign, neither in the breasts nor in the hair.

Introduction Today's mishnah teaches that a girl has three stages of physical development, each with their own legal ramifications. These ages are: 1) ketanah, a minor; 2) naarah, a girl beginning to mature; 3) a bogeret, a mature girl. The father's rights over his daughter are limited to the first two stages. We should note that this was a significant step in giving a far greater degree of independence to young girls. In the Bible, a father's rights over his daughter probably extended until she was married. The rabbis significantly curtailed this, ending his rights over his daughter at the extremely young age of 12. It is unlikely that in reality a father stopped exerting his decision making authority over his daughters at such a young age even today father's authority over their children extends well past this age. However, even if in reality fathers had significant power over their daughters for a far longer time, the fact is that the rabbis did limit their legal power, thereby creating more room for the girl's independence. .

בוחל – the fruit that is close to ripening. And it is the language of the Sages. The figs are subject to tithes when they are in that state of ripening called בוחל (see Tractate Maaserot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 2 and Tractate Niddah 47a – which is defined as when their heads grow white). Such is the case when she (i.e., the woman) has the sign of breasts slightly = when it is known that she has brought forth two [pubic] hairs, and she is a young woman/נערה.

The sages spoke of [the physical development of] a woman in a parable: an unripe fig, a fig in its early ripening stage and a ripe fig. The rabbis used the analogy of a fig to delineate the three stages of the physical development of a girl. This is clearly an allusion to her sexual development. A fig is somewhat of a sensuous fruit, and reminds us of the Garden of Eden. Sex and eating are often compared, so it seems that this mishnah is saying that a young girl is not ready for sex but that by 12 she is. [Again, I realize that this strikes as an extremely early age. However, we should probably realize that this is an issue that is determined by culture and that in many cultures girls are considered to be sexually ready at far younger ages than they are in our society.]

צמל – it is the language of an abbreviation/acrostic, that she has fully blossomed/come forth completely. That she has a clear sign in her breasts that she is an adult woman.

"An unripe fig": while she is yet a child; A child here is one who has not developed any signs of sexual development.

בזו ובזו – even when she is a young woman, her father is in possession of everything, as it is written (Numbers 30:4): “while still in her father’s household by reason of her youth.”

"A fig in its early ripening stage": when she is in her youth (. Naarut is when a girl begins to show signs of physical development. Her breasts are beginning to grow. Tomorrow's mishnah will go into greater detail.

In both ages her father is entitled to anything she finds and to her handiwork and to the right of invalidating her vows. A father has full rights over his ketanah and naarah daughter. Anything she finds and anything she makes belongs to him, and if she makes a vow he has the right to invalidate it (see Ketubot 4:4).

"A ripe fig" as soon as she becomes of majority age (, her father has no longer any right over her. Once she is of majority age, he no longer has any legal rights over her.

איזו הוא סימניה (what are her signs of puberty) – it is referring to צמל/the stage of complete puberty in a woman.

What are the signs [of a bogeret]?
Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: the appearance of the wrinkle beneath the breast.
Rabbi Akiva says: from when the breasts hang down.
Ben Azzai says: the darkening of the ring around the nipple.
Rabbi Yose says: [the development of the breast to a stage] when one's hand is put on the nipple it sinks and only slowly rises again.
Today's mishnah contains several opinions as to what constitutes the physical development of a girl such that she is considered a bogeret. All four of these opinions relate to the development of the girl's breasts.
I think that the translation of these four opinions is sufficient to understand them, therefore there is no commentary below.

קמט – her breasts grew until they are folded a bit upon the chest and they appear as a fold.

משיטו דדיה (that her breasts hang down) – they are larger than a fold.

הפיטומת (when the surroundings of the nipple begin to grow dark) – the top of the breast, like (Tractate Sukkah, Chapter 3, Mishnah 6): ניטלה פטמתו/if the pestle-lie protuberance of an Etrog is taken out.

על העוקץ -point of the nipple that the baby sucks on. And the surroundings of the nipple which is around the point, and all of these signs of puberty when they are appear in a woman, she is an adult. The one in accordance in with the opinion he holds (i.e., for example, Rabbi Akiva) and the other in accordance with the opinion he holds (i.e., for example, Rabbi Yossi), but furthermore, the father has no authority/control over her. But the Halakha is according to the words of all of them in the strictest opinions. Therefore, it one of these signs of puberty appear on her, we judge concerning her the law of an adult woman stringently. But not for a lenient decision, that if she betrothed herself, she needs a Jewish bill of divorce for perhaps she was an adult woman. But if her father betrothed her, she also needs a Jewish bill of divorce, lest she was a young woman/נערה, until there will be in her all of these signs of puberty entirely and then she will be considered an adult woman, whether for leniency or for stringency.

והיא אילונית – meaning to say, and it is necessary that they will see I her signs of being a sexually undeveloped woman. For if signs of being a sexually undeveloped woman are not seen in her even though she is twenty-years of age and has not brought forth yet two [pubic] hairs she is still a minor, until she will be thirty-five years and one day old. But if she did not bring forth two [pubic] hairs, then, even though the signs of being an undeveloped woman have not appeared in her, this [woman] is a sexually undeveloped woman. And we explained the signs of a sexually undeveloped woman [at the beginning] of the first chapter of [Tractate] Yevamot (Mishnah 1).

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with a male or female who never show signs of hitting puberty. A female in this category is called an aylonit, which probably comes from the word "ayil" ram. And a male is called a "saris" which is the Hebrew word for eunuch. The laws of this mishnah can also partly be found in Yevamot 8:5.

לא חולצת ולא מתיבמת – and she is permitted to marry to any in the market/street, for the All-Merciful freed her, as it is written (Deuteronomy 25:6): “The first son that she bears [shall be accounted to the dead brother, that his name not be blotted out in Israel],” excluding the sexually undeveloped woman, who does not give birth.

If a woman at the age of twenty did not bring forth two hairs, she must bring evidence that she is twenty years of age and she is an aylonit, she doesn't perform halitzah or yibbum. If a woman turns twenty and has not yet hit puberty, meaning she has no pubic hair, and can prove that she is twenty, then she is an aylonit, a woman who is unable to procreate. If she is married and her husband dies without offspring she is not subject to the laws of levirate marriage halitzah or yibbum. This is because she is unable to procreate.

והוא סריס – meaning to say, that there appeared in him the sins of being a eunuch/impotent. For if there hadn’t appeared in him the signs of being a eunuch, he is still a minor, until he will be thirty-five years and one day old, for then, even if there didn’t appear in him signs of being impotent, it is known/assumed that he is impotent, since he did not bring forth two [pubic] hairs. But a eunuch does not perform Halitzah, as it is written (Deuteronomy 25:7): “to establish a name in Israel for his brother,” for this one is not the offspring of this one.

If a man at the age of twenty years did not produce two hairs, he must bring evidence that he is twenty years old and he becomes confirmed as a saris and he doesn't perform halitzah or yibbum, the words of Bet Hillel. The same rules apply to a man who reaches age twenty. If his brother dies without children, he doesn't perform halitzah or yibbum with the widow. If there are no other brothers, then the widow does not require halitzah or yibbum at all. It is as if her husband died without a brother.

רבי אליעזר אומר הזכר כדברי בית הלל – age twenty, if there appeared in him the signs of a eunuch, behold this is a eunuch/someone impotent.

Bet Shammai says: with both of them at the age of eighteen. Bet Shammai disagrees with regard to the age at which we assume that the female is an aylonit and the male a saris. They hold that this assumption kicks in at 18, not 20 as held Bet Hillel.

והנקבה – who is eighteen years old, if there appeared in her signs of a sexually impotent woman, according to the words of the School of Shammai. But the Halakha is not according to the Rabbi Eliezer.

Rabbi Eliezer says: In the case of the male, according to the words of Bet Hillel, while in that of the female, in accordance with the words of Bet Shammai, since a woman matures earlier than a man. Rabbi Eliezer offers a compromise position. Since girls reach maturity earlier than do boys, the age for them is 18, as said Bet Shammai. For boys, Rabbi Eliezer agrees with Bet Hillel.