Yevamot 75b (עה:) — the Talmud in English

But

there was the incident involving

a certain man who climbed a date palm

in the case of a man who climbed a date palm

and a thorn pierced him

and punctured it

in the testicles, and something resembling a thread of mucus emerged from them

and semen resembling mucus emerged from his testicles,

and

nevertheless

he fathered a child

which demonstrates that even when his testicles are punctured, he can still father a child!

The Gemara answers:

Samuel sent word to Rav

Samuel sent a message to Rav

and said to him: Go and investigate his sons, to determine who their father is!

That is to say: They are mamzerim, born from adultery with another man, since her husband is incapable of fathering children.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Samuel: A man whose reproductive organs were crushed by Heaven

through a blow, or through fright caused by thunder and hail, or because he was born that way from his mother's womb

is fit.

Rava said: This is the reason that we read

in the Torah: “A

crushed

male,”

and we do not read: “the crushed male.”

Since “the crushed” would indicate one who was crushed from the outset, such as from his mother's womb,

for indeed, one who was crushed from his mother's womb is fit.

In a baraita it was taught

another derivation, that a man whose reproductive organs were crushed is prohibited only if he was injured by a human being, by means of a gzera shava:

It is stated: “A crushed male shall not enter”

the congregation,

and it is stated: “A mamzer shall not enter.”

Just as there

with regard to a mamzer

the cause is human agency,

as he was created through an adulterous act,

so too here

the man whose reproductive organs were crushed, who was injured

by a human being,

is the subject of the prohibition.

Rava said:

It is written: “A man whose reproductive organs are crushed or whose organ is severed shall not enter the assembly of the Lord.”

“Crushed”

the man whom the Torah prohibits is one whose reproductive organs are crushed

in all of them,

as the Gemara will explain.

“Crushed”

the man whom the Torah prohibits, as it is written “crushed,” is one whose organs are crushed

in all of them,

as the Gemara will explain.

“Severed”

the man whom the Torah prohibits is one whose organs are severed

in all of them,

as the Gemara will explain.

“Crushed in all of them”—

whether the organ was crushed,

in which case he is a man whose reproductive organs were crushed and is prohibited from entering the congregation,

whether the testicles were crushed, or whether the cords of the testicles were crushed

the cords by which the testicles are suspended in the scrotum.

“Crushed in all of them”—

whether the organ was crushed, whether the testicles were crushed, or whether the cords of the testicles were crushed,

in all these cases he is a man whose reproductive organs were crushed and is unfit to enter the congregation.

“Severed in all of them”—

whether the organ was severed, whether the testicles were severed, or whether the cords of the testicles were severed.

One of the Sages said

one of the scholars

to Rava:

From where do you know that this expression, “a man whose reproductive organs are crushed,” refers to that place,

from where do we know to interpret “crushed” as referring to one whose organ or testicles were injured?

Perhaps it refers to his head,

and “a man whose reproductive organs are crushed” means one whose head was injured?

Rava said to him,

Rava

to him: Since the Torah did not enumerate

with regard to a man whose reproductive organs are crushed

generations,

since we do not find that the Torah enumerates the descendants of such a man, to teach us whether they are prohibited and for how many generations they are prohibited, as we find with regard to an Ammonite and a Moabite, whom the Torah explicitly prohibited forever, and as we find with regard to an Egyptian and an Edomite, concerning whom the Torah permitted the third generation, you learn from this that a man whose reproductive organs are crushed cannot father children and has no descendants—

conclude from this:

a man whose reproductive organs are crushed

refers to that place

and he has no descendants at all, because he cannot father children.

The Gemara challenges this proof:

But perhaps the reason that the Torah did not enumerate his descendants

is because

only

he

is prohibited,

whereas

his son and his grandson are fit?!

That is to say: Perhaps a man whose reproductive organs are crushed can father descendants, but the Torah did not address them because they are not prohibited at all; only the man whose reproductive organs are crushed himself is prohibited.

By virtue of this objection, the Gemara proves in another manner that “a man whose reproductive organs are crushed” refers to that place, for:

A man whose reproductive organs are crushed is

analogous to “one whose organ is severed.”

Just as one whose organ is severed refers to that place,

he is,

so too this one—

a man whose reproductive organs are crushed—

also refers to that place

he is.

The Gemara asks:

But “one whose organ is severed” itself

itself

from where do you know that it refers to that place?

Perhaps it refers to his lips,

on his lip, where he emits saliva.

The Gemara answers: “One whose organ is severed” is written

“one whose organ is severed and emits.”

In the place from which he emits

where fluid drips, and that is the organ; whereas saliva does not drip from the lips, but a person projects it a distance.

The Gemara asks:

And perhaps

“one whose organ is severed and emits” refers to one whose organ was severed

from his nose,

which is the place from which nasal fluid drips! The Gemara answers:

Is it written “one whose organ is severed

male

in emitting,”

which would indicate that the place that drips was severed, as in the case of the nose? But

“one whose organ is severed and emits” is written,

which indicates:

one who through severing

becomes a

“one who emits”,

but

one who was not severed does not emit in that manner, but instead sprays,

and that is the organ.

To exclude this one—

the nose—

for both

before severing and after severing

it emits.

In a baraita it was taught

another source that a man whose reproductive organs are crushed refers to that place, for:

It is stated: “A man whose reproductive organs are crushed shall not enter,” and it is stated: “A mamzer shall not enter,”

and you learn by means of a gzera shava:

Just as there—

a mamzer—

refers to that place

a mamzer comes into being through intercourse involving that place,

so too here—

a man whose reproductive organs are crushed—

refers to that place.

We learned in the Mishna: “And one whose organ is severed”—anyone whose organ was severed; but if even a threadbreadth of the corona remains, he is fit:

A. If the organ was not perforated, but the corona itself was perforated, he is not unfit to enter the congregation. This is as we learned at the beginning of the chapter regarding an organ that was severed: severing the corona does not disqualify him. The same applies to perforation, since the term “organ” applies only from the corona onward, toward the body.

B. If it was

perforated below the corona,

toward the ground, which is not a disqualifying place, and the perforation ran diagonally until the end of the perforation emerged

opposite it, above the corona,

in the organ, which is a place where perforation disqualifies him, but the perforation did not pass completely through the disqualifying area.

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba thought to deem him fit

to enter the congregation.

Rabbi Asi said to Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba:

to Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba,

This is what Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

If the perforation passed from side to side through the entire

corona,

then even a perforation whose width is

any amount disqualifies him

according to Rashi's version, by preventing him from fathering children; therefore he is unfit to enter the congregation.

We learned in the Mishna:

But if a threadbreadth of the corona remains,

he is fit:

Ravina was sitting and raising a question:

The “full thread” that they said

that if flesh remains on the corona, he is fit—

does it mean

across all of it

of the corona,

or

even if flesh remains only

across most of it?

Rava Tosafa'a said to Ravina:

The “full thread”

that they said means that flesh remains

across most of it,

the majority of the circumference of the corona.

And

only when flesh remains from the corona across most of it

toward the beginning,

on the side of the corona adjacent to the organ. But if the flesh of the corona adjacent to the organ was cut in such a way that no flesh of the corona remained there that could encircle most of the circumference of the organ, and flesh remained only farther along the corona, on the side adjacent to the ground, enough to encircle the head of the organ, he is one whose organ is severed.

Rav Huna said:

If the organ was cut and made

like a pen,

which is cut diagonally for writing,

she is fit.

If the organ was hollowed

like a gutter,

like an open tube on its upper side, though it has walls and the groove is in the middle—

she is unfit.

The Gemara explains Rav Huna's reasoning:

For

this one

like a gutter—

allows air to enter it

air enters between the walls of the organ and cools it, so the semen does not become heated within it.

But

if

this one

is like a pen—

air does not enter it.

And Rav Hisda said

the opposite:

Like a gutter, she is fit.

Like a pen, she is unfit.

The Gemara explains Rav Hisda's reasoning:

For

this one

like a pen

is scraped,

since the organ is narrow, it does not become heated during intercourse at the place of intercourse; therefore the semen does not spray, but drips, and it is incapable of producing offspring.

And this one

like a gutter

is not scraped,

the organ becomes heated through contact with the place of intercourse, since none of its thickness has been removed.

Rava said:

Rav Huna's opinion appears more reasonable,

for he said: Like a pen, she is fit, and like a gutter, she is unfit, because

this one does not allow air to enter it, whereas this one allows air to enter it—

for

if the reason were scraping,

as Rav Hisda maintains, that reasoning is not valid,

as in the case of a barrel stopper

for the matter is comparable to a barrel stopper, which is narrow at its top; when it is forced into the mouth of a barrel, it seals it with its thickness, since at its lower end it is not narrow.

So too, although the organ is narrow at its end because it was severed there, farther back it remains its original thickness, and the organ becomes heated there, in the thickness behind the cut.

Ravina said to Marimar: Mar Zutra said in the name of Rav Pappa: The halakha

is neither in accordance with Rav Huna nor in accordance with Rav Hisda, but

whether it is like a pen or whether it is like a gutter, she is fit.

However, he raised a question:

Does this apply specifically when the organ was made like a gutter or like a pen

below the corona

toward the ground,

or

even

above

the corona, toward the body?

The Gemara raises an objection: But

it is obvious that it refers to above the corona!

For if it enters your mind that it refers to below the corona,

then

even if the organ itself was severed as well,

he would still be fit, as we learned in our Mishna, that severing the corona does not disqualify him if flesh the size of a threadbreadth remains in it!

The Gemara explains:

And Ravina,

who asked this question even though the matter is obvious,

asked it in order to test Marimar

to determine whether he was sharp enough to answer his question.

There was an incident that occurred in Mata Mehasya,

in which the organ was hollowed like a gutter, and they came to Mar bar Rav Ashi to ask him whether the man was fit to enter the congregation.

He shaved it

he cut and smoothed the organ

Mar bar Rav Ashi,

and made it

like a pen, and deemed him fit

for that man to enter the congregation.

There was an incident that occurred in Pumbedita: the channel of semen became blocked

the passage of semen

the opening of the channel through which a person emits semen became blocked,

and he emitted

that man emitted semen

in the place

through the opening through which he ordinarily emits

urine

urine.

Rav Bibi bar Abaye thought to deem him fit.

Rav

said

Pappi to him: