If semen is released in an unusual way - through a hole in the penis, for example - then a man is restricted from a number of his responsibilities/honours. The rabbis teach us how to assess for this problem and how to treat it.
The rabbis need to know whether a man with this sort of injury is ejaculating normally. How do they do this? Showing him pornography is not an option. However, showing him brightly coloured women's clothing might just do it. But the rabbis believe that other methods might be more efficient in helping him to ejaculate. Warm dough is to be placed upon his anus. The warmth should help him ejaculate, they argue. This is truly fascinating.
Perhaps the injury can be treated, the rabbis suggest. Instead of stitches, they bring an ant and place it on the injured penis, allowing it to bite the penis and create a scar. The body of the ant is removed but the head stays in place, holding the skin together around this hole/scar.
I cannot imagine that a man with an injured penis would be willing to undergo such a treatment today.
We are introduced to the concept of lesbianism for the first time. Rav Huna teaches that women who rub against each other due to sexual desire are engaging in intercourse and are prohibited from marrying a kohen. Rabbi Elazar has a different opinion. He teaches that this behaviour is not intercourse but an example of licentious behaviour. Thus women who engage in lesbian acts are permitted to their husbands and they are permitted to marry kohanim. Our notes teach us that men are to take steps to discourage their wives from such behaviour. They also tell us that these women are liable to lashes, for they are behaving 'like Egyptians', which is forbidden.
The rabbi's debate centres around whether or not a penis is a necessary component in the legal act of sexual intercourse. Given the halacha in this matter, it is clear that the penis is required for intercourse to occur. What women do together might be undesirable, but it is not intercourse and thus not an act of acquisition.
A new Mishna explains that a man with crushed/injured testicles or a severed penis can still get married. He can marry a convert or an emancipated maidservant. He is not allowed to marry a woman born Jewish. This is because Deuteronomy 23:2 tells us that he cannot "enter the congregation of the Lord".
But what is a priest with a severed penis to do? Does he forego his sanctified status and marry a maidservant, or does he stay unmarried as a proper kohen? The Gemara looks to other examples of such marriage restrictions, including Israelites with crushed testicles and mamzerim. They note that Solomon married the Pharaoh's daughter. But didn't he convert her before the marriage? Even if she converted, conversion was not accepted in those times. Kings were afraid of people marrying into to their successful kingdoms. The Pharaoh's daughter was already royalty and so this would not apply to her.
The Gemara continues to explain who could marry whom in times of the Mishna. First-generation Egyptians could marry each other. Their children could marry each other. And then the third-generation children would be accepted into the congregation of Israel. The rabbis use this information to understand what restrictions should be placed on men with 'imperfect' genitals.
Another new Mishna is introduced. It clearly states exclusions: Ammonite and Moabite men can never marry Jewish-born women, nor can they ever joint the congregation. Women from these tribes are immediately accepted, however. Egyptian and Edomite converts wait three generations. Rav Shimon tells us that women from these tribes should be permitted immediately, just like the women of Ammonite and Moabite clans. He is challenged: did he learn this from his teachers, or is it an opinion based on an a fiori reference? Rav Shimon insists that this has been taught previously.
The Gemara examines a proof text at some length as it retells the story of Saul learning about David's lineage. His ancestral line allows Saul to understand whether David might be king or just an ordinary man one day. We walk through some of the family lines, including Ruth's Moabite line, the lines of Judah's children through Tamar, and others.
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