Vayeishev 38:28 · unit 1
Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 38:28
The Complete Passuk
וַיְהִ֥י בְלִדְתָּ֖הּ וַיִּתֶּן־יָ֑ד וַתִּקַּ֣ח הַמְיַלֶּ֗דֶת וַתִּקְשֹׁ֨ר עַל־יָד֤וֹ שָׁנִי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר זֶ֖ה יָצָ֥א רִאשֹׁנָֽה׃
While she was in labor, one of them put out a hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to signify: This one came out first.
Chabad / Judaica Press
Source Citation
Torah Temimah points to Niddah 28a.
Sefaria — Niddah 28a
Core Text of Chazal
Core Text
וַיִּתֶּן יָד — אָמַר רַב חָנָא: הוֹצִיא עוּבָּר אֶת יָדוֹ וְהֶחֱזִירָהּ, אִמּוֹ טְמֵאָה לֵידָה.
English: “And he put out a hand” — Rav Chana said: if a fetus put out its hand and withdrew it, the mother is teme’ah with the tumah of childbirth.
On the daf / in context: The verse about Zerach’s hand is an asmachta for the rabbinic stringency on partial emergence.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Narrative detail supports a stringency in tumas leidah.
What Is Learned
Partial emergence of a limb can generate the tumah of childbirth even if the limb is withdrawn.