Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 53b

סנהדרין נ״ג ע״ב

Learn Sanhedrin 53b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 53b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

רבי יהודה's view: does he follow רבי עקיבא on לאוין, and what is his source for one liability for a mother who is also the father's wife?

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a משנה that defines two terms: איסור מצוה (the rabbinic שניות) and איסור קדושה (the marriage bans special to כהנים). A ברייתא reports that רבי יהודה swaps the two names. The גמרא infers that he still seems to require חליצה. It then challenges the idea that רבי יהודה holds like רבי עקיבא, since for רבי עקיבא a לאו is like כרת and needs no חליצה. The answer is that רבי יהודה was only speaking within the תנא קמא's view. Next, רב יצחק teaches that for רבי יהודה, a man who sins with his mother who is also his father's wife is liable only once, as 'mother'. The גמרא then searches for the source of this rule. אביי's source ('אמך היא') and רב אחא בריה דרב איקא's source (the singular 'ערותה') are both rejected. Finally רבא explains that רבי יהודה reads 'ערות אביך' as the father's wife, so 'אמך היא' limits the double case to one liability.

Opening lines

אִיסּוּר מִצְוָה –

A prohibition of מצוה –

שְׁנִיּוֹת מִדִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים.

is the secondary relatives, forbidden by the words of the Scribes.

וְאַמַּאי קָרוּ לְהוּ אִיסּוּר מִצְוָה?

And why do they call them a prohibition of מצוה?

שֶׁמִּצְוָה לִשְׁמוֹעַ דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים.

Because it is a מצוה to listen to the words of the Sages.

The steps (20)

  1. StatementWhat 'a prohibition of מצוה' means
  2. StatementWhat 'a prohibition of sanctity' means
  3. StatementA ברייתא: רבי יהודה swaps the two names
  4. ProofHe only swaps names, so he agrees she needs חליצה
  5. ChallengeChallenge: how can רבי יהודה hold like רבי עקיבא?
  6. Resolutionרבי יהודה was only speaking according to the תנא קמא
  7. Statementרבי יצחק's teaching: liable only for 'mother'
  8. QuestionWhat is רבי יהודה's reason?
  9. Responseאביי: the פסוק says 'she is your mother'
  10. ChallengeBut the next פסוק says 'it is your father's nakedness'
  11. ChallengeReading 'היא' both ways leads to an absurd result
  12. ChallengeWhat do the רבנן do with 'אמך היא'?
  13. RejectionThe phrase is needed for רב שישא's teaching, for both sides
  14. ResponseA new source: the singular word 'ערותה'
  15. ChallengeChallenge from the daughter-in-law פסוק
  16. ChallengeA משנה shows two liabilities for a daughter-in-law
  17. Rejection'ערותה' only means one body, so רב אחא's source falls
  18. Responseרבא: 'the nakedness of your father' means your father's wife
  19. StatementThe father's wife is included whether or not she is his mother
  20. Response'She is your mother': liable as mother only, not also as father's wife