|
Hi Mishna friends,
I apologize for having fallen off the wagon for a few weeks, and am thankful to Abe Mezrich who gave us perek 5!
So here we are at perek 8.
The main focus of this perek is a man who is functionally impotent, either having been born with defective sexual organs, or having been castrated at some point during his life. The first of these categories is referred to in the Mishna as “sris shemesh” (see commentaries as to why this term is used for this), and the latter category is referred to as “sris adam”. The main significance of the distinction as it pertains to the laws of yibbum and chalitza is explored in Misha 4 , where Rabbi Akiva established that a “sris adam” is included in these laws (whether as the deceased brother or as the surviving brother0, whereas the “sris shemesh”, who was never potent, lives outside these laws altogether.
This is as good an opportunity as any to look at the original Biblical context of this legal category, i.e. the ruling in Devarim that a man in this category is forbidden to marry into the Jewish community (with certain limited exceptions). Here again we find this same important distinction in that the prohibition on marriage applies only to a “sris adam”, but NOT to a “sris shemesh”. Sages over the centuries have attempted to explain the reason for the marrying prohibition. Some sages simply regard this prohibition as one of those laws whose reasons are inscrutable to us and known only to God. Others root the prohibition in the value of procreation, understanding that the high value of procreation leads logically and ineluctably to the conclusion that a man who cannot procreate must be excluded from marriage. This explanation is of course dubious, as it cannot account for the fact that a “sris shemesh”, a man who was simply born into this condition, is NOT included in the prohibition to marry.
The author of the Sefer HaChinuch offers what may be the most interesting and compelling explanation. He argues that in Biblical times (and perhaps well beyond) men would deliberately subject themselves to castration in order to gain positions in the royal court as palace eunuchs. They were in essence choosing career advancement and the economic reward that came with it over the value of having family. And it was this value system that the Torah was aiming to extinguish.
The most crucial practical element of this discussion is that the Halacha regards a man who becomes impotent or who undergoes medically necessary vasectomy (for example) as being “sris shemesh”, NOT “sris adam”. This not only allows a man in this situation to marry, but also saves him and his wife from the obligation to divorce in the wake his becoming a “sris”. (In all seriousness, consult with your local Orthodox rabbi for if needed.)
| 
