The following comes from Tractate Sanhedrin in the Jerusalem Talmud:
7:11
[A] He who profanes the
Sabbath [M. 7:4E]―in regard to a matter, on account of the deliberate doing of
which they are liable to extirpation, and on account of the inadvertent doing
of which they are liable to a sin-offering.
[B] He who curses his father
and his mother [M. 7:4F] is liable only when he will have cursed them by the
divine Name.
[C] [If] he cursed them with
a euphemism,
[D] R. Meir declares him
liable.
[E] And sages declare him
exempt.
[F] He who has sexual
relations with a betrothed maiden [M. 7:4G] [Deut. 22:23–4] is liable only if
she is a virgin maiden, betrothed, while she is yet in her father’s house.
[G] [If] two different men
had sexual relations with her, the first one is put to death by stoning, and
the second by strangulation. [The second party, B. has not had intercourse with
a virgin (M. 11:1). The maiden is between twelve years and one day and twelve
years six months and one day old.]
[I:1 A] Whence
do we derive a warning against profaning the Sabbath?
[B] “You shall not do any
work on it” (Ex. 20:10).
[C] Whence do we derive
that the penalty of extirpation applies?
[D] “Whoever does any work
on it―that soul shall be cut off from among his people” (Ex. 31:14).
[E] Whence do we derive a
[court-administered] punishment?
[F] “Everyone who profanes
it shall be put to death” (Ex. 31:14).
[G] [Now, inclusive of
violating the Sabbath,] there should be thirty-seven occasions for extirpation
[and not thirty-six] taught in the Torah [at M. Ker. 1:1].
[H] Said R. Yosé b. R. Bun,
“The reason is that if one has performed all of the actions deliberately,
knowing that it is the
[I] [And is there a case
of violations of the law] deliberately knowing that it was a form of labor
which is prohibited? One is then liable on each count. [That is, there is only
the possibility of a single liability.]
[II:1 A] Whence
do we find a warning against cursing one’s father and mother?
[B] “Every one of you shall
revere his mother and his father” (Lev. 19:3).
[C] Whence do we derive
both the [court-administered] penalty and extirpation?
[D] “Whoever curses his
father or his mother shall be put to death” (Ex. 21:17), [so the death
penalty].
[E] And it says, “For
whoever shall do any of these abominations, the persons that do them shall be
cut off from among their people” (Lev. 18:29), [so extirpation].
[III:1 A] He who has sexual relations with a
betrothed maiden―
[B] R. Yasa in the name of
R. Yohanan, R. Hiyya in the name of R. Eleazar, [maintained, “In insisting that
it is a maiden, the Mishnah expresses the opinion] of R. Meir.
[C] “But so far as rabbis are concerned, even if she is a minor [less than
three years and one day], one is liable.”
[D] What
is the Scriptural basis of the position of R. Meir?
[E] The word “maiden” is spelled without its
full complement of letters [which is taken to mean that Scripture wishes to
exclude a category of young girls, namely, those less than the specified age].
[F] And
how do rabbis interpret the same deficient spelling of the word for “maiden”?
[G] R. Abbahu in the name of R. Simeon b.
Laqish: “The word for maiden’ is fully spelled out one time in the passage, and
it imparts its meaning on the entire passage, meaning that the maiden spoken of
therein must be of the requisite age.”
[H] Objected
R. Meir to rabbis, “Lo, he who brings forth an evil name―lo, only ‘maiden’
in not fully spelled out form is written in that connection, and yet she is
invariably deemed to be an adult!
[I] “The reason is that [if this girl is
found guilty, she is put to death by stoning], but a minor is not put to death
by stoning.”
[J] How
do rabbis deal with this passage?
[K] Said R. Abin, “Interpret the passage [in
which ‘maiden’ is not fully spelled out] to speak of a case in which the man
had sexual relations through the anus.” [That is, the husband who brings forth
slander against the bride is liable, even if he had sexual relations in an
unnatural manner.] [That is, the particular spelling introduces a distinct
consideration into the law.]”
[III:2 A] R. Jacob bar Abba raised the question before
Rab: “He who has sexual relations with a betrothed minor―what is the law?”
[B] He said to him, “He is
put to death through stoning [as he would if she were an adult virgin, just as
rabbis hold].”
[C] He who has sexual
relations with a pubescent girl―what is the law [from rabbis’ viewpoint]? [Is
the penalty the same?]”
[D] He said to him, “I read
in the Bible: ‘a maiden’ and not a pubescent girl,” [and the penalty is not
stoning but strangulation]. [He replied,] “They read [Scripture also to mean]
‘maiden’ and not a minor [as rabbis hold].”
[E] “And do you not agree with me that the man is subject to a fine:
[‘Then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman
fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife’ (Deut. 22:29)]?” [Rab
points out that the rabbis’ position is supported by the view that even if the
man has sexual relations with a minor, he still is liable to the fine. This
would then support the view of rabbis as against Meir.]
[F] He said to him,
“ ‘… because he has violated her’ (Deut. 22:29)―this serves to encompass
even a minor girl within the law of the fine.
[G] “And read, ‘… because
he has violated her’ to encompass a pubescent girl to be under the law of the
fine.”
[H] Said Rab, “Even though R. Jacob bar Abba won over me in the discussion
of the law, in fact the final decision is this: ‘He who has sexual
relations with a minor is put to death through stoning, but she is exempt from
punishment.’ ”
[I] R.
Abin in the name of R. Samuel, “And why did he not interpret the matter along
the lines of the following [to prove that he who has intercourse with a minor
is stoned to death]―
[J] “ ‘[But if in the open country a
man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with
her,] then only the man who lay with her shall die. [But to the young woman you
shall do nothing; in the young woman there is no offense punishable by death,
for this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor;
because he came upon her in the open country, and though the betrothed young
woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her]’ (Deut. 22:25–27).
[K] “Now do we not know that ‘in the young
woman there is no offense punishable by death’?
[L] “And why does Scripture tell us, ‘But to
the young woman you shall do nothing; in the young woman there is no offense
punishable by death’?
[M] “But on the basis of this needless
statement, we conclude the following:
[N] “He who has sexual relations with a minor
is punished by stoning, and she is exempt from all punishment.” (Jacob
Nuesner, The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary [Peabody,
Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008], Logos Bible Software edition)
