from a mishna that deals with the offering of a woman who miscarries on or of the eighty-first day after her previous childbirth: The Torah obligates a woman to bring an offering after childbirth, including a miscarriage. However, one offering suffices for any births or miscarriages that occur within eighty days of the original birth, as the halakhic ramifications of that birth last eighty days (see Leviticus 12:1–6). The mishna cited addresses the borderline case of a woman who miscarries on the night of the eighty-first day following the birth. Beit Shammai exempt her from bringing another offering, as the offering she brought for the previous childbirth exempts her from bringing another for the miscarriage. And Beit Hillel obligate her to bring a second offering.

Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: What is different between or of the eighty-first and the day of the eighty-first? If they are equal with regard to the halakhot of ritual impurity, i.e., the blood of this woman is no longer ritually pure and all of the standard strictures of ritual impurity apply to her, will the two time periods not be equal with regard to the offering as well? In terms of the meaning of or, from the fact that Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: What is different between or of the eighty-first and the day of the eighty-first, learn from it that or is night. Indeed, learn from it that or means night.

The Gemara raises an objection with regard to the meaning of the word or from a baraita: One might have thought that a peace-offering, which may be eaten for two days, may also be eaten on or of the third day. And it is a logical derivation that leads to that conclusion. How so? Other offerings, e.g., sin-offerings, are eaten for one day, and peace-offerings are eaten for two days. Just as there, with regard to other offerings, the night follows the previous day, i.e., the offering may be eaten during the day and the subsequent night, so too here, with regard to peace-offerings, say that the night follows the day, and rule that they may be eaten on the night after the second day.

Therefore, the verse states: “And when you sacrifice a peace-offering to God, you shall sacrifice it of your own will. It shall be eaten the same day you sacrifice it, and on the next day; and if any remains until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire” (Leviticus 19:5–6). This verse means that it may be eaten while it is still day, i.e., during the second day, and it may not be eaten on or of the third day.

The baraita continues: If a peace-offering may not be eaten beyond the second day, one might have thought that it should be burned immediately after the conclusion of the second day, and this too is the conclusion of a logical derivation: Other offerings are eaten for one day and night, and peace-offerings are eaten for two days and one night. Just as there, the offerings are burned immediately after their permitted time for eating concludes, on the morning of the second day, so too here, with regard to peace-offerings, one could say that they must be burned immediately after their permitted time for eating concludes, at night after the second day.

Therefore, the verse states: “And if any remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day, it shall be burnt with fire” (Leviticus 7:17), meaning: You must burn it during the day, and you do not burn it at night. With regard to the meaning of or, from the fact that the baraita states: One might have thought that it may be eaten on or of the third day, apparently or is evening. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, learn from it that or is evening.

Come and hear another proof: On or of Yom Kippur, one recites seven blessings in the Amida prayer and confesses his sins; in the morning prayer, one recites seven blessings and confesses; in the additional prayer, one recites seven blessings and confesses; in the afternoon prayer, one recites seven blessings and confesses; in the evening prayer, one recites an abridged version of the standard Amida prayer of eighteen blessings, as the people are weary from fasting. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel says in the name of his forefathers: One recites the eighteen complete blessings, due to the fact that he is required to recite havdala in the fourth blessing of the Amida: Who graciously grants knowledge. It cannot be inserted in the abridged version. Apparently, or is evening. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, learn from it that or means evening.

Come and hear another proof, as it was taught in the school of Shmuel: On the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan, one searches for leavened bread by candlelight. Apparently, or is evening, as this baraita replaces or with the word evening.

It is clear from these proofs that the expression or in the mishna means the evening before the day. How, then, could the amora’im dispute whether it is referring to the morning or evening? Rather, the Gemara rejects its previous assumption with regard to the dispute, as everyone, both Rav Huna and Rav Yehuda, agrees that or is evening, and they do not disagree with regard to the halakha. However, this Master stated the halakha in accordance with the expression accepted in his place, and that Master stated the halakha in accordance with the expression accepted in his place. In Rav Huna’s place, they call the evening light, and in Rav Yehuda’s place they call it night, although both terms refer to the same period.

The Gemara asks: And the tanna of our mishna, what is the reason that he didn’t explicitly teach: The night of the fourteenth, as it was taught in the school of Shmuel? The Gemara answers: He employed a euphemism. Since the tanna of our mishna did not want to mention darkness, he preferred the term or to refer to the night of the fourteenth. And this is in accordance with a statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A person should never express a crude matter, as the formulation of a verse was distorted by the addition of eight letters rather than have it express a crude matter, as it is stated: “From the pure animals and from the animals that are not pure [asher einena tehora]” (Genesis 7:8). To avoid using the Hebrew term for impure [teme’a], which is four letters: Tet, mem, alef, heh, the verse replaced the term with the euphemism meaning “that are not pure,” which is spelled with twelve letters: Alef, shin, reish; alef, yod, nun, nun, heh; tet, heh, reish, heh.

Rav Pappa said: A different verse added nine letters, as it is stated: “If there be among you any man who is not ritually pure [asher lo yihye tahor] by reason of that which happened to him by night” (Deuteronomy 23:11). To avoid using the three-letter Hebrew word for impure, tameh, spelled tet, mem, alef, the verse employs the twelve-letter phrase “who is not ritually pure,” spelled: Alef, shin, reish; lamed, alef; yod, heh, yod, heh; tet, heh, reish. Ravina said: The verse actually adds ten letters because of the letter vav of the word tahor, as the word is spelled in its plene form. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Yet another verse adds sixteen letters, as it is stated: “For he said, something has happened to him, he is not ritually pure; surely he is not ritually pure [bilti tahor hu ki lo tahor]” (I Samuel 20:26). To avoid using the three-letter word tameh, the verse employs the nineteen-letter phrase “he is not ritually pure; surely he is not ritually pure,” spelled: Beit, lamed, tav, yod; tet, heh, vav, reish; heh, vav, alef; kaf, yod; lamed, alef; tet, heh, vav, reish.

Likewise, a baraita was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: A person should always converse euphemistically, as one finds in the following verses. The first: “And whichever saddle that the zav rides upon shall be ritually impure” (Leviticus 15:9), which discusses the impurity imparted by a zav to an object on which he sits, calls this action riding. And the verse: “And anyone who touches anything on which she sat” (Leviticus 15:22), which discusses the parallel ritual impurity of a woman, a zava, calls the action sitting. Since riding is slightly demeaning for a woman, as it involves an immodest splaying of the legs, the verse avoids the term riding and opts to convey the more modest image of sitting. And it says in another verse: “And you choose the language of the crafty” (Job 15:5), meaning that one should be clever when speaking and avoid inappropriate phrases. And it says in another verse: “My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart; and that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely” (Job 33:3).

The Gemara asks: What is the need for the proofs from the two additional verses introduced by the phrase: And it says? The baraita already proved its point from the verses with regard to zav and zava. The Gemara answers: The additional verses are necessary, lest you say: This requirement to use clean language applies only in the language written in the Torah, but in rabbinic formulations, no, there is no obligation to use clean language. To counter this argument, the tanna says, come and hear: And it says: “And you choose the language of the crafty,” which indicates that this principle extends beyond the language of the Torah. And lest you say that this requirement applies only to rabbinic language, but when it comes to ordinary speech, no, one need not speak euphemistically, the baraita adds: And it says: “And that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely,” i.e., one must speak euphemistically in every situation.

With regard to the above baraita taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael, the Gemara asks: And with regard to a woman, is the term riding not written in the Torah? But isn’t it written: “And Rebecca and her damsels arose and they rode upon camels” (Genesis 24:61)? The Gemara answers: There, due to fear of camels, that is standard conduct. Since a camel’s back is high off the ground, a woman cannot sit on it sidesaddle; consequently, she may ride on it without being considered immodest. The Gemara cites another relevant verse. But isn’t it written: “And Moses took his wife and his children and rode them upon his donkey” (Exodus 4:20)? The Gemara answers: There, despite the fact that his wife was also on the donkey, the verse employs the language of riding