Sanhedrin 82a (פב.) — the Talmud in English

If zealots did not strike him, what is

the punishment of one who has intercourse with a gentile woman?

Rav forgot his learning [

Rav forgot what he had learned from his teacher concerning this matter and did not know how to answer him].

Rav Kahana was shown in a dream [

From Heaven, Rav Kahana was made to recite in a dream] the verse from Malachi [2:11]: "

Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the sanctity of the Lord

which he loved, and has married the daughter of a foreign god;

may the Lord cut off from the man who does this, awake and answerer, from the tents of Jacob, and him who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts."

Rav Kahana came [

Rav Kahana came] and

said to him

to Rav:

This is how they showed me [

This is how they made me recite it].

Rav remembered his learning [

Through this, Rav remembered what he had learned from his teacher]; and this is what he had learned: "

Judah has dealt treacherously":

This is idolatry, and similarly it says [

Jeremiah 3:20]: "Indeed, as a woman deals treacherously with her companion [

her husband],

so have you dealt treacherously with Me, house of Israel [

says the Lord]." "

And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem":

This is male homosexual intercourse; and similarly it says [

Leviticus 18:22]: "

And with a male you shall not lie as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination." "

For Judah has profaned [

himself, for he was]

the sanctity of the Lord":

This is a prostitute [

one who is promiscuous for prostitution]; that is, he abandons his sanctity and goes to pursue prostitutes,

and similarly it says: "

There shall not be a prostitute [

a prostitute who profanes her sanctity]

among the daughters of Israel." "

And has married the daughter of a foreign god":

This is one who has intercourse with a gentile woman.

And

therefore

it is written afterward

after all these matters, including one who has intercourse with a gentile woman: "

May the Lord cut off

from the man who does this, awake and answerer [

the nun is vocalized with a segol]

from the tents of Jacob, and him who brings an offering to the Lord

of hosts,"

and this is expounded as follows:

If he is a Torah scholar,

the Lord will cut him off, and thereafter

he will no longer have an awake one [

sharp-minded]

among the Sages, or an answerer among the students.

If he is a priest,

the Lord will cut him off, and thereafter

he will no longer have a son who brings an offering to the Lord

of hosts.

Rabbi Hiyya bar Avuya said:

Anyone who has intercourse with a gentile woman is as though he marries himself to idolatry, as it is written "

and has married the daughter of a foreign god";

and does a foreign god have a daughter? Rather, this is one who has intercourse with a gentile woman,

and thus he is as one who marries a foreign god.

And

further

Rabbi Hiyya bar Avuya said:

It is written [Jeremiah 22:18]: "Therefore, so said the Lord concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, he will not be mourned ... He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey [that is, just as a donkey is not buried when it dies on the road, but is left there, so will be the fate of Jehoiakim: he will be led into exile and die on the road, and his burial will be like that of a donkey], dragged [ Jehoiakim after his death] and cast beyond [outside] the gates of Jerusalem [and he will not be buried at all."

he shall not be mourned... The burial of a donkey shall he be buried [that is: just as a donkey is not buried when it dies on the road, but is left there, so shall be the matter of Jehoiakim, for they shall lead him into exile, and he shall die on the road, and his burial shall be like that of a donkey], dragged [Jehoiakim after his death] and cast beyond [outside] the gates of Jerusalem [and he shall not be buried at all."

Written on Jehoiakim’s skull was: “

Written on the skull of Jehoiakim was "

This and another,"

that is, vengeance has already been exacted against it, and another will be exacted against it; and the Gemara proceeds to explain this.

Rabbi Perida's grandfather [

he was Rabbi Hiyya bar Avuya]

found a certain skull that was lying at the gates of Jerusalem, and written upon it was "

This and another"— [

Rabbi Perida's grandfather found a skull at the gates of Jerusalem, upon which was written, "This and another."]

He buried it, and then it emerged; he buried it, and then it emerged. He said: This is the skull of Jehoiakim, concerning whom it is written [

Rabbi Perida's grandfather buried the skull, and again it protruded and emerged, and again he buried it and again it protruded. He said: This is certainly the skull of Jehoiakim, concerning whom it is said]: "

He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem."

Said

Rabbi Perida's grandfather:

He was a king, and it is not the way of proper conduct to disgrace him. He took it, wrapped it in silk garments, and placed it in a chest— [

The skull was that of a king, and it is not proper to disgrace it. He took the skull, wrapped it in garments, and placed it in a chest in his house]—

His wife came, saw it, went out, and told her neighbors; they said to her: This is the skull of his first wife, whom he cannot forget! She sent it

to the oven, and burned it. [

Rabbi Perida's grandfather's wife came and found the skull lying in the chest, but did not know whose it was. She went out and related the incident to her neighbors. The neighbors said to her: This skull belongs to your husband's first wife, whom he cannot forget. The woman heated the oven, took the skull, and cast it into the heated oven].

When

Rabbi Perida's grandfather came and saw what had happened to the skull,

he said: This is what was written upon it [

this is what was written on the skull] "

This and another,"

for in addition to not being buried, it was also burned in fire.

When Rav Dimi came

from Eretz Yisrael,

he said:

The court of the Hasmoneans decreed: One who has intercourse with a gentile woman is liable on her account for the transgression represented by the acronym Nashg

z;

that is, he is punished on her account because of:

N

iddah [because it is repulsive and a desecration of the sanctity of the Name].

And on account of

S

lave-woman, for in relation to the congregation of Israel, the gentile woman is like a slave-woman in relation to a mistress.

And because of

G

entile woman, that is: The Torah said [Deuteronomy 7] concerning the seven nations: "You shall not intermarry with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son. For he will turn your son away from following Me, and they will serve other gods." From the wording of the verse, "For he will turn away," we learn that all gentile women who turn one away are included. However, when one has casual intercourse with a gentile woman, there is no prohibition by Torah law, for the Torah prohibited only intercourse by way of marriage; nevertheless, the court of the Hasmoneans decreed that one must separate from her because of this prohibition.

And because of

A

dulterous woman [a married woman], if she was married.

But

when Ravin came

from Eretz Yisrael,

he said:

He is punished on her account

because of Nashg

z,

namely:

niddah, slave-woman, gentile woman, prostitute—

but they do not have the status of marriage,

for an ordinary gentile woman is promiscuous, is not designated exclusively for her husband, and does not resemble a married woman.

And the other

—the reason Rav Dimi also mentioned a married woman is that

their wives are certainly not promiscuous [

they certainly do not make their wives available to others].

Rav Hisda said:

If he comes to ask for guidance—

Rav Hisda said:

One who comes to consult—

if he asks whether to strike one who has intercourse with a gentile woman— is not instructed to strike him, for this halakha was stated only for one who acts zealously on his own initiative and does not consult. It is written [Numbers, chapter 25]: "Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. Israel attached itself to Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel [He sent a plague against them]. The Lord said to Moses: Take all the heads of the people [appoint courts for them to judge capital cases concerning the sin of Peor], and hang them [those who worshipped Peor] before the Lord in the face of the sun [that is, stone them and then hang them in public view, for all those who are stoned are hung], so that the anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. Moses said to the judges of Israel: Let each of you kill his men who have attached themselves to Baal Peor. And behold, a man of the children of Israel [he was Zimri son of Salu, prince of the tribe of Simeon] came and brought the Midianite woman [Cozbi daughter of Zur] to his brethren before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the entire assembly of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest saw, arose from the midst of the assembly, and took a spear in his hand. He came after the Israelite man into the chamber [into the tent] and stabbed them both [because ‘zealots strike him’], the Israelite man and the woman, through her chamber, and the plague was stopped from among the children of Israel. Those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand."

It was also stated: Rabba bar bar Hanna said that Rabbi Yohanan said: If he comes to ask for guidance, they do not instruct him—

Moreover, if Zimri withdrew

from the woman

It was also stated: Rabba bar bar Hana said that Rabbi Yohanan said: One who comes to consult is not instructed to do so—

Moreover, if Zimri withdrew

from the woman

and Phinehas killed him after he had withdrawn [and not as he killed him during the act, under the law that “zealots strike him”], then Phinehas would be killed for it. And if Zimri turned around and killed Phinehas, he would not

But if

Zimri turned around and killed Phinehas, he would not

be

executed for killing him, since

Phinehas

was pursuing

him,

and one may kill a pursuer. It is written:

be killed for it,

for

Phinehas was a "pursuer," and one may kill him. It is written: And Moses said to the judges of Israel Kill each of you his men who have attached themselves to Baal Peor; and it is written afterward: "And behold, a man of the children of Israel came ...," and this is what happened: The tribe of Simeon went to their prince, Zimri son of Salu, and

Zimri son of Salu, and

said to him:

and

said to him:

said to him:

They are -

the judges of Israel -

judging capital cases, while you sit and remain silent!?

What did

Zimri do?

He arose and assembled twenty-four thousand from Israel,

and went to Cozbi

the daughter of Zur, who was the prince of Midian,

and said to her: “

Give yourself to me

for licentious intercourse”!

Cozbi said to him

to Zimri:

“I am the daughter of a king, and my father commanded me

‘You shall submit only to the greatest among them’”!

He said to her: He too -

he was referring to himself -

is the prince of a tribe, and not only that, but he is greater than he

[that is, I am greater than Moses],

for he

[Zimri] descended from

the second in the womb

Simeon, who was Leah’s second son,

whereas he

[Moses] descended from

the third in the womb

Levi, who was Leah’s third son.

Zimri seized

Cozbi

by her hair and brought her before Moses,

and

said to him: “Son of Amram! Is this woman forbidden or permitted?”

And if you say: “

She is forbidden

”,

the daughter of Jethro -

who was a gentile -

who permitted her to you!?

The halakha was concealed from him

[from Moses]

that had been stated to him at Sinai: “One who engages in intercourse with a gentile woman, zealots may attack him.” \-

They all burst into weeping, and that is what is written: “

And they were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

And it is written: “

And Pinhas, son of Eleazar, saw

and arose from amid the assembly and took a spear in his hand”:

What did he see?

The amoraim disagreed about this:

Rav said: He saw the incident and remembered the halakha. He said to him

Pinhas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, to Moses:

“My father’s father’s brother

[Moses was the brother of Aaron, Pinhas’s father’s father]! Is it not so that

you taught me this when you descended from Sinai: ‘One who has intercourse with a gentile woman, zealots may attack

him’!?

He said to him

Moses to Pinhas:

“Let the reader of the letter be its agent”

[the one who reads the letter should be the agent who fulfills what is written in it]. That is, since you recalled the halakha, you go and carry it out!

And Shmuel said: He saw,

that is, Pinhas recalled the verse stating

that “

There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against the Lord,”

and we learn:

Wherever there is a desecration of the Divine Name -

so that onlookers should not see and learn to permit intercourse with a gentile woman -

one does not show honor to one’s teacher

[Moses]. Therefore, he issued a halakhic ruling in the presence of his teacher and did not wait to obtain permission from Moses.

Rabbi Yitzhak said

[interpreting in the name of]

Rabbi Elazar: He saw that an angel had come and was killing among the people.

It is written: “

And he arose

[Pinhas]

from amid the assembly

[the Sanhedrin, who were the leaders of the people and the judges of Israel who judged the people for the sin of Peor]

and took a spear in his hand.”

From here -

from what the verse says, “He arose and took” -

it

means that until then, a spear had not been in his hand -

that weapons may not be brought into the beit-midrash

the place where the Sanhedrin sat.

Pinhas drew out

the

blade,

that is, the spear consisted of a blade inserted into a wooden shaft, and so that they would not realize that he was going to kill, Pinhas drew the blade out of the shaft,

and concealed it in his garment,

hiding it beneath his clothing,

and

Pinhas approached Zimri while he was

leaning and walking on his staff

[on the wooden shaft of the spear after its blade had been removed], so that the members of his tribe, the tribe of Simeon, would not recognize that he had come to kill.