English: “On the ovnayim” — what are ovnayim? R’ Chanan said: He transmitted to them a major sign: when a woman crouches to give birth, her thighs become cold like stones.
In context: See the cited source for the full section.
Type of Learning
Custom — technical reading of ovnayim as a birth sign.
What Is Learned
Chazal teach that Pharaoh tried to equip the midwives with a concrete physical criterion for identifying the critical moment of delivery.