Commento su Niddah 5:7
מָשָׁל מָשְׁלוּ חֲכָמִים בָּאִשָּׁה. פַּגָּה, בֹּחַל וְצֶמֶל. פַּגָּה, עוֹדָהּ תִּינוֹקֶת. בֹּחַל, אֵלּוּ יְמֵי נְעוּרֶיהָ. בָּזוֹ וּבָזוֹ, אָבִיהָ זַכַּאי בִּמְצִיאָתָהּ וּבְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיהָ וּבַהֲפָרַת נְדָרֶיהָ. צֶמֶל, כֵּיוָן שֶׁבָּגְרָה, שׁוּב אֵין לְאָבִיהָ רְשׁוּת בָּהּ:
I saggi hanno analizzato le donne attraverso una parabola: un fico acerbo, un fico nella fase di maturazione precoce e un fico completamente maturo. Un fico acerbo [si riferisce a] mentre è ancora una bambina. Un fico nella sua fase di maturazione precoce [si riferisce] mentre è nella sua adolescenza. Durante questo e quel [palcoscenico], suo padre ha diritto a ciò che trova, al suo lavoro manuale e [il diritto] all'annullamento dei suoi voti. Una volta che matura un fico completamente maturo [si riferisce], suo padre non ha più alcun diritto su di lei.
Bartenura on Mishnah Niddah
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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
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. .
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Bartenura on Mishnah Niddah
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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
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.]
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Bartenura on Mishnah Niddah
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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
"An unripe fig": while she is yet a child; A child here is one who has not developed any signs of sexual development.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Niddah
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.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
"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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
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).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Niddah
"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.
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