Yevamos - Daf 80
- When is a child born in the eighth month of pregnancy with simanim considered viable?
Rebbe Abahu said: סימני סריס ואילונית ובן שמנה אין עושין בהן מעשה עד שיהו בן עשרים – The simanim of a saris, an aylonis and a child of the eighth month, we do not act upon them until they are twenty years of age. Rashi explains, regarding the child born in the eighth month of pregnancy, even if he is fully developed with hair and nails, we do not say that he is a בר קיימא – a viable child, until he reaches the age of twenty. The Gemara questions whether a ben shemoneh can live, for it was taught in a Baraisa: בן שמונה הרי הוא כאבן – A child of the eighth month is treated like a stone, and it is forbidden to move him on Shabbos. But his mother bends over him and nurses him because of sakanah. Rashi explains that in addition to a danger to the baby, it is a danger to the mother to have excessive milk from not nursing, which can lead to pain and cause her death. The Gemara answers that Rebbe Abahu was referring to a case where the child was a full term seven-month fetus, who developed simanim, and lingered in the womb for an additional month. Even if he was born with the simanim of a viable child, such as with fully developed hair and nails, the child is not established as a בר קיימא until the age of twenty.
- איזהו סריס חמה ואילונית
It was taught in a Baraisa: איזהו סריס חמה – Who is a sris chamah? כל שהוא בן עשרים ולא הביא שתי שערות – Anyone who is twenty years old and did not produce two pubic hairs; even if he produced them afterwards, he is still classified as a full saris. Among the simanim of a sris chamah the Baraisa lists: כל שאין לו זקן- Anyone who does not have a beard, ושערו לקוי – and the hair on his head is soft, ובשרו מחליק – and his skin is smooth. כל שאין מימיו מעלין רתיחות – Anyone whose urine does not produce foam. כל המטיל מים אין עושין כיפה – Anyone who urinates and does not form an arch.כל שרוחץ בימות הגשמים ואין בשרו מעלה הבל – Anyone who bathes in the winter and his skin does not produce vapor. כל שקולו לקוי ואין ניכר בין איש ואשה – Anyone whose voice is thin and it is not recognized if it is a male or female voice. The Baraisa continues and defines an aylonis as a woman who is twenty years old and did not produce two pubic hairs. Some of the simanim listed are: כל שאין לה דדים – Anyone who has no breasts, ומתקשה בשעת תשמיש – and has pain during relations, שאין לה שיפולי מעים כנשים – she does not a lower abdomen that bulges like ordinary women, וכל שקולה עבה – and anyone whose voice is thick and it is not clear whether it is a male or female voice.
- How many simanim are required to determine one as a saris?
The Gemara brings a machlokes Amoraim regarding the simanim of a saris: Rav Huna says: A person is not considered a saris עד שיהו כולם – until he has all of the simanim, but Rebbe Yochanan says: אפילו באחד מהן – He is a saris even if he has just one of them. According to Rebbe Yochanan, if he reaches the age of twenty without producing two pubic hairs, he is determined to be a saris even with just one siman. The Gemara explains that everybody agrees that where he produced two hairs in his beard, he is not established as a saris unless all of the other simanim are present. They disagree where he did not produce two hairs in his beard. In such a case, Rebbe Yochanan holds that one siman will establish him as a saris.
