Kiddushin, Daf Kaf Heh, Part 1
Introduction
Today s section discusses whether a slave goes free if his master castrates him. The discussion is cased in quite a humorous story, and who knows, maybe the humor is a response to the subject?
סבי דנזוניא לא אתו לפירקיה דרב חסדא
אמר ליה לרב המנונא זיל צנעינהו
אזל אמר להו מאי טעמא לא אתו רבנן לפירקא
אמרו ליה אמאי ניתי דבעינן מיניה מילתא ולא פשט לן
The elders of Nizunia did not come to R. Hisda’s study session.
He (R. Hisda) said to R. Hamnuna: Go put them under the ban.
He went and said to them, Why did you not attend the session?
They said to him: Why should we attend, when we ask him questions which he cannot answer?
Evidently not going to R. Hisda s study session is a real no-no. But the elders of Nezunia have an answer, and we ll see how it plays out.
אמר להו מי בעיתו מינאי מידי ולא פשיטנא לכו
בעו מיניה עבד שסרסו רבו בבצים מהו כמום שבגלוי דמי או לא
לא הוה בידיה אמרו לו מה שמך אמר להו המנונא אמרו ליה לאו המנונא אלא קרנונא
He said back: Have you ever asked me anything which I could not solve?
They asked him: A master who castrates his slave s testicles, is it an open blemish or not?
He did not have an answer. They said to him, What is your name? Hamnuna, he replied. They said back: You are not Hamnuna, but Karnuna.
R. Hamnuna cannot answer the question of whether a master who castrated his slave must set him free. Does this count as an open blemish, one that others will notice, and therefore the slave goes free. The elders of Nazunia laugh at Hamnuna and changed his name to Karnuna. Evidently Hamnuna is read as meaning a hot (ham) fish nuna. But Karnuna is a cold fish. Good one elders!
אתא לקמיה דרב חסדא א"ל מתניתא בעו מינך דתנן עשרים וארבעה ראשי אברים שבאדם כולם אין מטמאין משום מחיה ואלו הם ראשי אצבעות ידים ורגלים וראשי אזנים וראש החוטם וראש הגוייה וראשי דדים שבאשה רבי יהודה אומר אף שבאיש ותני עלה בכולם עבד יוצא בהם לחירות
רבי אומר אף הסירוס בן עזאי אומר אף הלשון
When he came before R. Hisda, he said to him: They asked you a Mishnah. For we learned: As to the twenty-four tips of limbs of a man, none of them become unclean on account of unaffected skin. And these are they: the tips of the fingers of the hands and [the toes of] the feet, the tips of the ears, the tip of the nose, the tip of the penis, and the nipples of a woman. R. Judah said: Also those of a man.
And it was taught about this: For [the loss of] all these a slave goes free.
Rabbi said: For castration too.
Ben Azzai said: [For] the [loss of the] tongue too.
R. Hisda tells R. Hamnuna that he could have answered the question from a mishnah. The mishnah refers to a person who has a skin affliction. If there is a healthy, unaffected spot within the affliction, then he is rendered impure. The mishnah lists parts of the body which if unaffected do not count as a healthy spot and do not render him impure. On this mishnah a baraita is taught according to which a slave goes free if his master cuts off these parts (ouch). Since Rabbi includes castration we have the answer to our question. A slave castrated by his master goes free.
אמר מר רבי אומר אף הסירוס סירוס דמאי אילימא סירוס דגיד היינו גוייה אלא לאו סירוס דביצים
The master said: Rabbi said: For castration too. Castration of what? If we say: Castration of the member? But that is identical with the [loss of the] penis. Rather it means castration of the testicles.
This clarifies that castration refers to cutting off the testicles and not the penis. I will add here that there is a great reference to this passage in an episode of Game of Thrones. For more information, contact me.