Yevamot 11: The Tzara of a Sota; Meanings of Toeva

Today's daf considers the tzara of a sota.  A tzara is a rival wife, and a sota is a woman accused of being willingly unfaithful to her husband.  Special rules apply to these rival wives: they are considered to be of lower status; they are exempt from chalitza.

Some of the reasoning in today's daf is incredibly complex - it requires knowledge of the halachot regarding men and women of many different 'categories' (for example, a man who has remarried his wife - after she has married other men - who dies childless).  It also requires that we follow what happens halachically when these people interact with each other.  Further, it asks us to understand which rabbis argue which assertions.  

Needless to say, I find it challenging to achieve any one of these requirements.  

One particular argument stuck with me - not the argument itself, but a commentary.  When questioning an interpretation, the rabbis suggest an appealing possibility: once the verse is uprooted, it is uprooted.  They are teaching us that when a verse specifically refers to the tzara of a sota, for example, we cannot use that verse to explain another set of individuals.  

This goes against much of our general learning in the Talmud.  Rabbis frequently take words out of context and understand them in other circumstances.  There must be rules that help the rabbis understand when they should keep verses in context and when verses can be applied externally.  

With this in mind, we are told that certain women are considered to be 'abominations' while their children are not.  We learn in a note the word abomination, toeva, is usually used to describe sins that are punishable by karet.  In this instance, though, the sin is not punishable by karet.  Thus the abomination may or may not be describing a very serious sin.

These points are particularly important when we are considering the interpretation of Leviticus 20:13.  This verse is used to justify hatred of and discrimination against gay men.  However, toeva seems to hold meaning that is more similar to the word tamei, which refers to ritual impurity, than to abomination.  Any sex outside of marriage is tamei, though some acts - the rape of a marriageable woman, for example - are not considered as severe sins as other acts.  

Walking through the Talmud, even when I am unable to fully grasp the rabbis' arguments, is more rewarding than it is frustrating.