If a woman had five doubtful births or five doubtful issues, she need bring but one offering, and may then partake of sacrificial flesh, and she is not bound to bring the other [offerings]. If she had five certain issues, or five certain births, she brings one offering and may then partake of sacrificial flesh; but it is still her duty to bring the other offerings. It once happened in Jerusalem that the price of a pair of doves rose to a golden denar. Said R. Simeon b. Gamaliel [T1 or T4], By this Sanctuary, I shall not go to sleep to-night before they cost but a [silver] denar! Then he entered the Beth Din and taught: if a woman had five certain births or five certain issues she need bring but one offering, and may then partake of sacrificial flesh, and she is not bound to bring the other [offerings] thereupon the price of a pair of birds stood at a quarter of a [silver] denar each.
t.Ker.1.7
A. She who aborts after the completion of the days of purifying,
B. and she who aborts an eight-month-old foetus, alive or dead, or a child past term [TR II, p. 293],
C. and a proselyte who converted while circumcised,
D. and a deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor who lacked the completion of atonement rites
E. bring an offering and it is eaten.
MISHNAH: m.Ker.1.7If a woman had five doubtful births or five doubtful issues, she need bring but one offering, and may then partake of sacrificial flesh, and she is not bound to bring the other [offerings]. If she had five certain issues, or five certain births, she brings one offering and may then partake of sacrificial flesh; but it is still her duty to bring the other offerings. It once happened in Jerusalem that the price of a pair of doves rose to a golden denar*. Said R. Simeon b. Gamaliel [T1 or T4], By this Sanctuary, I shall not go to sleep to-night before they cost but a [silver] denar*! Then he entered the Beth Din and taught: if a woman had five certain births or five certain issues she need bring but one offering, and may then partake of sacrificial flesh, and she is not bound to bring the other [offerings] thereupon the price of a pair of birds stood at a quarter of a [silver] denar* each.
GEMARA: Our Rabbis taught: If she had five certain births and five doubtful ones, or five certain issues and five doubtful ones, she brings two pairs of birds, one for the certain and one for the doubtful cases. The one offered for the certain cases may be eaten, and it is still incumbent upon her to bring the remaining offerings; that offered for the doubtful cases is not eaten, and the woman is not bound to bring any more offerings. R. Johanan b. Nuri [T3] said: For the certain cases she shall say, The offering is for the last occurrence, and she will be exempted; but for the doubtful cases, if there is a certain one among them, she shall say that the offering is for the one that is not in doubt, and she is exempted; if not, she says that the offering is for any one of the occurrences and she is exempted. R. Akiba [T3] said: Both in the instance of the certain cases and in that of the doubtful ones she shall say that the offering is for any one of the occurrences and she is exempted. Said R. Nahman b. Isaac to R. Papa [BA5]: I shall tell you in the name of Raba [BA4] in which point these Tannaim* differ: R. Johanan b. Nuri [T3] compares these instances to those of sin-offerings: Just as when one is liable to five sin-offerings, he is not atoned for before all have been offered, the same is the ruling in our case. R. Akiba [T3] on the other hand compares them to immersions; for if one requires five immersions, as soon as he has immersed once he is clean; the same is the ruling in our case. Said R. Papa [BA5] to him: If it was to be assumed that R. Johanan b. Nuri [T3] compared our instances to those of sin-offerings, why does he maintain that for doubtful cases she shall say the offering is for any one of them, and she is exempted? Suppose one was liable b.Ker.8b to five suspensive guilt-offerings, would he indeed be exempted if he offered only one? Has it not been taught: This is the general rule: Whenever there is a division with regard to sin-offerings, there is also a division with reference to guilt-offerings? In fact, both compare our instances to that of immersion, and they differ as to whether we apprehend negligence. R. Johanan b. Nuri [T3] holds, It might lead to negligence; R. Akiba [T3] holds, We do not apprehend negligence.