Yevamot 17

Chapter 17

א ולא בעבודת כוכבים אלא על דבר שחייבין על זדונו כרת ושגגתו חטאת ותנן נמי כל מצוה שבתורה שחייבין על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת יחיד מביא כשבה או שעירה נשיא מביא שעיר משיח וב"ד מביאין פר
1 Nor [are they liable] in respect of idolatry unless [they ruled] concerning a matter the punishment for which is <i>kareth</i>, if it was committed wilfully and a sin-offering if committed unwittingly;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hor. 8a. ');"><sup>1</sup></span> and we also learnt: [For the unwitting transgression of any] commandment in the Torah the penalty for which, if committed wilfully, is <i>kareth</i> and, if committed unwittingly a sin-offering, the private individual brings a sin-offering of a lamb or a she-goat; the ruler brings a goat; and the anointed High Priest and the <i>Beth din</i> bring a bullock. In the case of idolatry the individual and the ruler and the anointed High Priest bring a she-goat while the <i>Beth din</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So in Hor. 9a. Cur. ed. 'congregation'. ');"><sup>2</sup></span>
ב ובעבודת כוכבים יחיד נשיא ומשיח מביאין שעירה צבור מביאים פר ושעיר פר לעולה ושעיר לחטאת מה"מ
2 bring a bullock and a goat, the bullock for a burnt-offering and the goat for a sin-offering. Whence is this deduced? From the following. For our Rabbis taught: When the sin wherein they have sinned is known:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. IV, 14. ');"><sup>3</sup></span> Rabbi said, here<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Concerning an erroneous ruling of the Beth din. ');"><sup>4</sup></span>
ג דת"ר (ויקרא ד, יד) ונודעה החטאת אשר חטאו עליה רבי אומר נאמר כאן עליה ונאמר להלן עליה מה להלן דבר שחייבים על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת אף כאן דבר שחייבין על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת
3 we read 'aleha<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H], Lev. loc. cit. ('wherein'). ');"><sup>5</sup></span> and further on<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Concerning marrying two sisters. ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
ד אשכחן צבור משיח מנלן דכתיב במשיח (ויקרא ד, ג) לאשמת העם הרי משיח כצבור
4 we also read 'aleha;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XVIII, 18, E.V., 'Beside the other'. ');"><sup>7</sup></span> as further on<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Concerning marrying two sisters. ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
ה יחיד ונשיא אתיא מצות מצות
5 the prohibition involves the penalty of <i>kareth</i> if the transgression was wilful and that of a sin-offering if it was unwitting, so here<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Concerning an erroneous ruling of the Beth din. ');"><sup>8</sup></span> also, [the ruling must be concerning] a prohibition which involves the penalty of <i>kareth</i> if the transgression was wilful and that of a sin-offering if it was unwitting.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Thus it has been shewn that Rabbi requires the text Beside the other for another deduction. ');"><sup>9</sup></span>
ו ולא בעבודת כוכבים אלא על דבר שחייבין על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת צבור בעבודת כוכבים יליף מעיני מעיני
6 Proof has thus been adduced for the case of the congregation; whence for that of the anointed High Priest? — It is written in relation to the High Priest, So as to bring guilt upon the people;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. IV, 3. ');"><sup>10</sup></span> this shews that the anointed High Priest is like the congregation. And for an individual and a ruler? — The inference is made by a comparison of Things<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Heb. [H] 'commandments'. ');"><sup>11</sup></span>
ז יחיד נשיא ומשיח (במדבר טו, כז) מואם נפש אחת אחד יחיד ואחד נשיא ואחד משיח במשמע וי"ו מוסיף על ענין ראשון
7 with Things.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. IV, 22 and IV, 13. ');"><sup>12</sup></span> 'Nor [are they liable] in respect of idolatry unless [their ruling] concerned a matter the punishment for which is <i>kareth</i> if it was committed wilfully, and a sin-offering if committed unwittingly'. As regards the congregation in the matter of idolatry, deduction<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That the transgression must be one which involves kareth if done wilfully, and a sin-offering if done unwittingly. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
ח וילמד תחתון מן העליון
8 is made by comparison between From the eyes<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 24, dealing with idolatry. ');"><sup>14</sup></span> and From the eyes.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. IV, 13, referring to an erroneous ruling. ');"><sup>15</sup></span>
ט ורבנן האי סברא מנא להו נפקא להו מדמקרי ליה ר' יהושע לבריה (במדבר טו, כט) תורה אחת יהיה לכם לעושה בשגגה (במדבר טו, ל) והנפש אשר תעשה ביד רמה
9 [The law<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. note 12. ');"><sup>16</sup></span> of] a private individual, a ruler and an anointed High Priest [is deduced] from, And if one soul<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 27. ');"><sup>17</sup></span>
י הוקשה כל התורה כולה לעבודת כוכבים מה עבודת כוכבים דבר שחייבין על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת אף כל דבר שחייבין על זדונו כרת ועל שגגתו חטאת
10 which implies that there is no distinction between a private individual, a ruler and an anointed High Priest, while the <i>waw</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'And', in we'im [H], and if). ');"><sup>18</sup></span> connects them with the previous subject,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The congregation. ');"><sup>19</sup></span>
יא אשכחן יחיד ונשיא ומשיח בין בעבודת כוכבים ובין בשאר מצות צבור בעבודת כוכבים מנין אמר קרא ואם נפש וילמד עליון מתחתון
11 and consequently the latter<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Individual, ruler and High Priest. ');"><sup>20</sup></span> may be deduced from the former.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The congregation, concerning whom deduction has previously been made from the law relating to an erroneous ruling. ');"><sup>21</sup></span>
יב אלא צבור בשאר מצות מנלן יליף מעיני מעיני ורבי האי תורה אחת מאי עביד ליה מיבעי ליה לכדתניא לפי שמצינו שחלק הכתוב בין יחידים למרובים
12 Whence, however, do the Rabbis<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who, unlike Rabbi, require the expression 'aleha (beside her) for deduction in connection with the laws of incest and rival wives, supra 3b. ');"><sup>22</sup></span> arrive at this inference?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That obligation is incurred only where the prohibition involves kareth where it was transgressed wilfully and a sin-offering when transgressed unwittingly. ');"><sup>23</sup></span>
יג יחידים בסקילה לפיכך ממונן פלט מרובין בסייף לפיכך ממונן אבד
13 — They deduce it from the Biblical interpretation which R. Joshua b. Levi taught to his son: Ye shall have one law for him that doeth aught in error. But the soul that doeth aught with a high hand etc.,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 29, 30. ');"><sup>24</sup></span> all the Torah is compared to the prohibition of idolatry;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The text, according to Rabbinical exposition, refers to idolatry and in relation to it the expression Law (Torah) is used. ');"><sup>25</sup></span>
יד יכול נחלוק בקרבנותיהן תלמוד לומר תורה אחת יהיה לכם
14 as in regard to idolatry [obligation is incurred only where] the offence involves the punishment of <i>kareth</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.g., offering of a sacrifice. ');"><sup>26</sup></span> when it was committed wilfully and a sin-offering<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. Num. XV, 30. Where wilful transgression involves kareth, unwitting transgression is atoned for by a sin-offering. ');"><sup>27</sup></span>
טו מתקיף לה רב חלקיה מהגרוניא טעמא דכתב רחמנא תורה אחת יהיה לכם הא לאו הכי ה"א נחלק מאי לייתו לייתו פר צבור בשאר מצות הוא דמייתו
15 when committed unwittingly, so also in the case of any other transgression [it must be such] as involves <i>kareth</i> when committed wilfully and a sin-offering when committed unwittingly. Proof has thus been found for the case of a private individual, a ruler and an anointed High Priest<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By deduction from soul (nefesh, Num. XV, 27) which includes all ranks of individuals. ');"><sup>28</sup></span>
טז כשבה יחיד בשאר מצות הוא דמייתי שעיר נשיא בשאר מצות הוא דמייתי פר לעולה ושעיר לחטאת צבור בעבודת כוכבים הוא דמייתו ואלא מאי שעירה יחיד נמי היינו קרבנו
16 both in regard to idolatry and the rest of the commandments; whence, however, [is it proved that the same law applies also to] the congregation in the case of idolatry? — Scripture said, And if one soul,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 27, referring, as has just been pointed out, to individuals of all ranks. ');"><sup>29</sup></span> and the former<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Congregation. ');"><sup>30</sup></span>
יז איצטריך ס"ד אמינא הואיל וצבור בהוראה מייתו פר לעולה ושעיר לחטאת אינהו נמי ניתו איפכא
17 may be deduced from the latter.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Individuals. ');"><sup>31</sup></span> Whence, however, [is it deduced that the same law applies to] the congregation in the case of the other commandments? — Deduction is made by comparison between 'From the eyes' and 'From the eyes'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra p. 40, n. 13 and p. 40, n. 14. ');"><sup>32</sup></span>
יח א"נ צריך ואין לו תקנה קמ"ל
18 And what does Rabbi do with the text of One law?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 29. ');"><sup>33</sup></span> — He applies it to the following.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'requires it for as it was taught'. ');"><sup>34</sup></span>
יט א"ל לוי לרבי מאי איריא דתני ט"ו ליתני ט"ז א"ל כמדומה לי שאין לו מוח בקדקדו
19 Whereas we find that Scripture made distinction between individuals and a group,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'many', i.e., the inhabitants of a city condemned for idolatry (Deut. XIII, 13ff). ');"><sup>35</sup></span> individuals being punished by stoning and their money, therefore, being spared, while a group are punished by the sword and their money is consequently destroyed, one might also assume that a distinction should be made in respect of their sacrifices; hence it was explicitly stated, Ye shall have one law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 29. ');"><sup>33</sup></span>
כ מאי דעתך אמו אנוסת אביו
20 R. Hilkiah of Hagronia<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A suburb of Nehardea. ');"><sup>36</sup></span> demurred: Is the reason<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Why the sin-offerings of a group and of individuals are the same in the case of idolatry (v. previous note). ');"><sup>37</sup></span>
כא אמו אנוסת אביו פלוגתא דרבי יהודה ורבנן היא ובפלוגתא לא קא מיירי
21 because the All Merciful has written, Ye shall have one law,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XV, 29. ');"><sup>33</sup></span> so that had it not so been written it might have been thought that a distinction should be made [in respect of their sacrifices]? What, however, could they bring! Should they bring a bullock? The congregation,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., a majority of all the tribes of Israel. ');"><sup>38</sup></span>
כב ולא והרי איסור מצוה ואיסור קדושה
22 surely, brings a bullock for the transgression of any one of all the other commandments!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' What distinction, then, would there be between the sin-offerings of a 'condemned city' and those of the 'congregation'? (V. previous note). If a distinction is to be made between the sacrifices of a 'condemned city' and those of individuals, how much more should such a distinction be made between the former and those of the 'congregation'! ');"><sup>39</sup></span> [Should they bring] a lamb? An individual, surely, brings a lamb if he transgressed any of the other commandments!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. n. 7, supra. ');"><sup>40</sup></span>
כג דפליגי רבי עקיבא ורבנן וקתני
23 A he-goat? A ruler brings one in the case of transgression of any of the other commandments!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. n. 7, supra. ');"><sup>40</sup></span> A bullock for a burnt-offering and a goat for a sin-offering? Such, surely, are brought by the congregation in the case of idolatry!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. n. 7, supra. ');"><sup>40</sup></span>
כד בפרקין קא אמרינן והא בית שמאי מתירין את הצרות לאחין ובית הלל אוסרין
24 Should they, then, bring a she-goat? This, surely, is also the sin-offering of a private individual!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Now, since no distinction in the sacrifice could possibly be made, what need was there for the text of Num. XV, 29? ');"><sup>41</sup></span> — [The text]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. previous note. ');"><sup>42</sup></span>
כה בית שמאי במקום בית הלל אינה משנה והרי אשת אחיו שלא היה בעולמו
25 was required, because it might have been suggested that whereas the congregation, in the case of an erroneous ruling, brings a bullock for a burnt-offering and a he-goat for a sin-offering, these<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The men of a 'condemned city'. ');"><sup>43</sup></span> should also bring the same sacrifices, but] in the reverse order;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A bullock for a sin-offering and a he-goat for a burnt-offering. ');"><sup>44</sup></span> or [it might have been assumed to be] necessary<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For the men of a 'condemned city' to bring a special sin-offering. ');"><sup>45</sup></span> but that there was no remedy;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If the sin was committed unwittingly since an offering peculiar to themselves is an impossibility. ');"><sup>46</sup></span> hence it was necessary to teach us.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That the sacrifices are the same (cf. supra p. 42, n. 5) as deduced from Num. XV, 27. For further notes v. Hor., Sonc. ed. pp. 53ff. ');"><sup>47</sup></span> Said Levi to Rabbi: What ground is there for stating<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In our Mishnah, supra 2a. ');"><sup>48</sup></span> FIFTEEN? Sixteen should have been stated! — The other replied: It seems to me that this man has no brains in his head. 'Do you mean', he continued, 'a man's mother who had been outraged by his father?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., that the Mishnah should have included as a sixteenth forbidden relative, a man's mother who was not the lawful wife of his father, and who, having been subsequently married by his paternal brother who died childless, is now subject to the levirate marriage or halizah of her own son, the brother of her second husband. ');"><sup>49</sup></span> The case of a man's mother who has been outraged by his father is a matter in dispute between R. Judah and the Rabbis,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Whether she may be married to his paternal brother, supra 4a. ');"><sup>50</sup></span> and the author of our Mishnah does not deal with any controversial matter'. But does he not? Surely, the prohibition due to a Rabbinical ordinance and the prohibition due to the levir's sanctity,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] ruxht a prohibition not included in the Biblical laws of incest, but ordained by the Rabbis. [H], a prohibition due to sanctity in the case, e.g., of a widow whose levir is a High Priest. (For this and an alternative explanation v. infra 20a). ');"><sup>51</sup></span> concerning which R. Akiba and the Rabbis are in dispute,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Infra loc. cit. ');"><sup>52</sup></span> are mentioned! — We mean, in our chapter. But, surely it was taught,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In our very chapter, infra 13a. ');"><sup>53</sup></span> 'Beth Shammai permit rivals to the other brothers and Beth Hillel prohibit them'!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which shews that even laws which are in dispute are recorded in the chapter. ');"><sup>54</sup></span> — The view of Beth Shammai where it is in contradiction to that of Beth Hillel is of no consequence.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'is not a teaching'; the view of Beth Hillel is accepted as law, and can consequently be included in our chapter. ');"><sup>55</sup></span> Is there not the case of the wife of a man's brother who was not his contemporary.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'in his world', i.e., who was born after the death of his childless brother. ');"><sup>56</sup></span>