daf bit: Shabbat 15

[cellio]

Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai are two major "schools" of the rabbinic period. They disagree on many things, and usually Hillel wins. Today's g'mara discusses three areas where they disagree and how the rabbis resolved the difference:

• When baking bread one must "take challah", meaning to set aside the portion for the priests. This applies only over a certain volume. Shammai says challah is due from one kab of flour; Hillel says from two. The sages say one and a half.
• A mikveh (ritual bath) must be filled with "living water" (like a spring), not with "drawn water". Some amount of drawn water can be included so long as there's enough living water. How much drawn water disqualifies the mikveh? Hillel says a hin (equivalent of twelve logs). Shammai says nine kabs (a lot less, though I'm not clear on the conversions here). Two scholars from Jerusalem say three logs, and the sages ratified this.
• A woman (who has not reached menopause) becomes ritually impure during her monthly cycle. From when does this state begin? Shammai says when she discovers it; Hillel says from last time she checked before now, since it could have started any time since. (This is a rare case of Hillel being stricter than Shammai.) The sages say: from 24 hours ago or her last exam, whichever is less. (15a)

I'm used to seeing "and the halacha follows Hillel", so these cases of the sages saying "neither Hillel nor Shammai, but instead this compromise" is interesting.

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