Gemara Clarity

Kiddushin 66a

קידושין ס״ו ע״א

Learn Kiddushin 66a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Kiddushin 66a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

One witness and silence: אביי's cases, and the מחלוקת between אביי and רבא about one witness to a wife's adultery

Overview

The amud opens by finishing אביי's rule: when one witness accuses someone and that person stays silent, the witness is believed. The last of his three cases is an ox used for bestiality. A משנה in בכורות supports him, because it lists 'one witness' separately from 'the owner,' which only makes sense if the owner was silent. The גמרא then shows why אביי needed all three cases (חלב, טהרות, and the ox), since each has a different reason someone might stay quiet. Next comes a new question: is one witness believed when he says a man's wife was unfaithful and the husband is silent? אביי says yes. רבא says no, because a דבר שבערוה needs two witnesses. אביי brings two proofs: the story of the blind man and מר שמואל, and a long ברייתא about ינאי המלך, where a rumor that his mother was a captive was investigated and not found. רבא turns aside both proofs, explaining the ינאי story as two against two through הזמה or through רבי יצחק's swapped maidservant. The amud ends as רבא begins a new statement, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״שׁוֹרְךָ נִרְבַּע״

“Your ox was used for bestiality”

וְהַלָּה שׁוֹתֵק – נֶאֱמָן,

and the other one is silent — he is believed.

וְתַנָּא תּוּנָא:

And the תנא of our משנה also taught this:

וְשֶׁנֶּעֶבְדָה בּוֹ עֲבֵירָה,

and an animal with which a sin was done,

The steps (21)

  1. StatementThird case: your ox was used for bestiality
  2. ProofSupport from a משנה about an animal used for a sin
  3. ProofShowing the משנה must mean the owner was silent
  4. ResolutionWhy the חלב case alone is not enough
  5. ConclusionWhy the טהרות case alone is not enough: the ox case is needed too
  6. QuestionWhat if one witness says the wife was unfaithful and the husband is silent?
  7. Responseאביי says he is believed; רבא says he is not
  8. Proofאביי's proof: the blind man and מר שמואל
  9. Proofאביי reads 'if you trust him' as 'if he is a valid witness'
  10. Rejectionרבא: 'trust him like two witnesses'
  11. Proofאביי's second proof begins: the story of ינאי המלך
  12. Proofאלעזר בן פועירה accuses the פרושים and suggests a loyalty test
  13. ProofThe rumor about ינאי's mother is investigated and not proven
  14. Proofאלעזר בן פועירה urges the king to destroy the חכמים
  15. Statementרב נחמן בר יצחק: the king's answer showed heresy
  16. ProofThe חכמים are killed until שמעון בן שטח restores the Torah
  17. QuestionHow exactly was the rumor found to be false?
  18. ProofIt must be one witness against two, which shows one witness is believed
  19. Rejectionרבא: it could still be two against two, as עדי הזמה
  20. RejectionAnother answer: a maidservant was taken in her place
  21. Statementרבא begins a new statement