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Talking Talmud

Sanhedrin 55: The Role of Shame

02.10.2025 | י״ב בשבט תשפ״ה

A challenging daf, with the breakdown of details of activity or homosexual acts, for bestial acts, and so on. The sages tackle the topics with seeming equanimity, until Rav Sheshet reacts in such a way that it opens the question whether they weren’t as sanguine about it all. Also, the question of a non-Jew who engages in bestiality – does the animal need to be put to death? What about in the case of a non-Jew and idolatry regarding an animal? That animal isn’t put to death (though a tree that is the object of idolatry needed to be destroyed). The shame of bestiality isn’t present with regard to idolatry, and the Jewish court doesn’t aim to make it an element of the non-Jew’s experience either. And that acknowledgement of shame also suggests the difficulty of this daf overall. Then, the Gemara shifts back to the animal with which one committed an act of bestiality — and the degradation or shame thereof. But Rav Hamnuna asks: What if there were such a case “be-shogeg,” without intention. So there would still be shame, but none of the downfall of an intentional sin. The Gemara cites several opinions in different ways (including citing various mishnayot) to attempt to answer Rav Hamnuna. Which is to say that a given sin can include downfall AND degradation or just one of these aspects.

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Anne and Yardaena

Anne Gordon is the deputy editor of Ops & Blogs at The Times of Israel. She is a veteran educator, having taught in high school and post-high school institutions in Israel and America for several decades.Yardaena Osband is a pediatrician and teaches in her community and online. They both hail from Boston, proud alumna of Maimonides School, where they first learned Gemara. Talking Talmud is their conversation (via podcast) on the daf yomi. They say: “Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf…) Join the conversation with us!”

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