Talmud Commentary: Bavli 2/5. bBetsah 22a (mBetsah 2:6)

@General observations

It is prohibited to have intercourse in a room where a candle is burning (bNid 17a). Abba Bar Martha, therefore, inquires if a candle may be extinguished on a festival day for the purpose of intercourse. Abbayye replied that this act is prohibited. Abba bar Martha objects to Abbayye’s ruling by referring to a baraita in the name of Rabbi Yehudah, who permitted an act of labor on a festival day even when food preparation was not necessarily involved. Yet, Abbayye does not accept Rabbi Yehudah’s ruling and refers to the majority rabbinic view, which did not allow it.

@Feminist observations

The euphemistic term דבר אחר was used for “repulsive objects which one does not wish to name directly,”[1] such as “leprosy” (bPes 76b; 112b; bShab 129b; bGit 57b; 70a); “swine” (bBer 43b, bPes 76b, bShab 129b), “immorality” (bKet 71b, 72a) and “idolatry” (bMen 109a; bShab 17b). Yet the term דבר אחר ”something else” in bBets 22a, as well as elsewhere in the Bavli (bBer 8b, bAZ 36b, bShab 17b, bYev 55b, bGit 73b), refers to “sexual intercourse.” bYev 55b, for instance, states:

Similarly the term “something else” is used in Tractate Gittin. Although it is not directly stated, it is obvious that “something else” refers to intercourse (bGit 73b):

Why do the rabbis use this euphemism to denote sexual intercourse? The term דבר אחר “something else” is only one euphemism for intercourse out of many possible expressions found in the Talmud (for instance:

[1],דבר מצוה, תשמיש מיטה, דרך ארץ

מצוה, עבירה)

Why is “something else” an appropriate term for intercourse in Massekhet Betsah? The Hebrew word לדבר means “to talk,” but is already used in the Mishnah as a euphemism for sexual intercourse.[2] In the Mishnah, and in rabbinic literature in general, a woman talking and the voices of women were considered sexually provocative (see, for instance, bBer 24a). This means that the act of talking to a woman, or of a woman talking to a man, was perceived as hinting at a sexual relationship. Therefore, the expression “another word/thing” is used here as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. This euphemism corresponds to my general observation throughout Massekhet Betsah that acts by women or, in this case, with women are not expressly stated.

Note also that this entire episode is recounted in the name of Abba bar Martha, a sage whose designation is clearly derived from his mother’s name. The reasons for this will be discussed in detail in FCBT to Massekhet Shabbat 121b.[3]