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Sanhedrin 54a

סנהדרין נ״ד ע״א

Learn Sanhedrin 54a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

A ברייתא explaining the פסוק about one who lies with his father's wife (ויקרא 20:11): who is liable, which women are included, which death penalty applies, and where the actual prohibition comes from.

Overview

The amud opens with a long ברייתא that supports רבא's explanation of רבי יהודה. Reading the פסוקים about אשת אב, the ברייתא works out who is liable, that the punishment is סקילה, where the warning comes from, and how a mother who is not the father's wife is included. It ends by teaching that a man with his own mother is liable only as 'mother', not also as אשת אב. The גמרא then shows that the רבנן read 'ערות אביך' literally, as a ban on one's father that adds a second count to the general ban on a male. This matches רב יהודה, and רבא explains that the 'two counts' mean two קרבנות for a Jew who sinned by accident. Two views argue whether this fits רבי יהודה, and that argument depends on whether we punish based on a קל וחומר. Next the גמרא lists which words each side uses for the father's wife after the father's death, for her punishment, and for a mother who is not the father's wife. Along the way, אביי shows that רבי יהודה disagrees with the משנה about counting אשת איש. אביי also explains that כלתו and אשת בנו are one prohibition, not two. A new משנה then rules that relations with a male or with an animal are punished by סקילה and explains why the animal is killed too. The גמרא learns the law of a male from ויקרא 20:13 and its סקילה from the words 'דמיהם בם'.

Opening lines

תַּנְיָא כְּוָותֵיהּ דְּרָבָא:

It was taught in a ברייתא in agreement with רבא:

״אִישׁ״ – פְּרָט לְקָטָן.

"A man" excludes a minor.

״אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו״ –

"Who lies with his father's wife"

מַשְׁמָע בֵּין אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו שֶׁהִיא אִמּוֹ,

implies both his father's wife who is his mother

The steps (51)

  1. ProofA ברייתא that supports רבא begins: 'a man' leaves out a minor
  2. StatementFather's wife is included whether or not she is his mother
  3. QuestionWhat about his mother who is not his father's wife?
  4. ResponseThe extra words 'he uncovered his father's nakedness' teach a גזרה שוה
  5. Statement'They shall be put to death' means stoning
  6. QuestionWhy stoning and not another death penalty?
  7. ResponseLearned from אוב וידעוני through 'their blood is upon them'
  8. QuestionWe know the punishment, but where is the warning?
  9. ResponseThe warning: 'Your father's nakedness you shall not uncover'
  10. QuestionDoes 'your father's nakedness' mean his wife or the father himself?
  11. ResponseThe matching words prove the פסוק is about the father's wife
  12. StatementThe prohibition covers every wife of the father
  13. QuestionWhat about his mother who is not his father's wife?
  14. ResponseThe source is 'the nakedness of your mother'
  15. QuestionWe have the prohibition, but where is the punishment?
  16. ResponseThe same matching words carry the rule over to the punishment
  17. ConclusionLiable as 'mother', not also as 'father's wife'
  18. QuestionHow do the רבנן read 'the nakedness of your father'?
  19. ResponseIt means literally: one's father
  20. ChallengeIsn't that already covered by 'with a male'?
  21. ResolutionTo make him liable twice
  22. ProofSupport from רב יהודה: two counts for father and father's brother
  23. Statementרבא: the ruling is about a Jew who sinned by accident
  24. ProofProof: you cannot execute someone twice
  25. ProofA ברייתא teaches the same ruling
  26. StatementOne view: the ברייתא does not follow רבי יהודה
  27. StatementAnother view: the ברייתא can fit רבי יהודה too
  28. ProofThe קל וחומר spelled out
  29. StatementThe two readings match the argument of אביי and רבא
  30. QuestionWhere do the רבנן learn the warning about a father's wife?
  31. ResponseThe רבנן learn it from 'your father's wife'
  32. Responseרבי יהודה uses that phrase for after the father's death
  33. ResponseThe רבנן learn 'after death' from the end of the פסוק
  34. ResponseWhat רבי יהודה learns from 'ערות אביך היא'
  35. ChallengeA משנה says he is liable for both
  36. Resolutionאביי: he disagrees in a ברייתא
  37. QuestionWhere do the רבנן get the punishment after the father's death?
  38. ResponseThe רבנן use 'ערות אביו גלה' for the punishment after the father's death
  39. QuestionWhere do the רבנן get the punishment for a mother who is not the father's wife?
  40. Responseרב שישא: 'אמך היא' includes any mother
  41. ChallengeWhy not a third liability for 'his son's wife'?
  42. Resolutionאביי: 'כלתו' and 'אשת בנו' are the same prohibition
  43. StatementNew משנה: stoning for relations with a male or with an animal
  44. QuestionIf the person sinned, why is the animal punished?
  45. ResponseFirst reason: the animal caused a person to stumble
  46. ResponseSecond reason: to protect the dead person's memory
  47. QuestionWhere do we learn the law of relations with a male?
  48. ResponseThe ברייתא reads the פסוק word by word
  49. Statementרבי ישמעאל: a teaching phrase that also teaches about itself
  50. QuestionWhich death penalty: is it really סקילה?
  51. ResponseProof from 'their blood is upon them'