Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

"Portrait of a Woman among Sunflowers," Amalie Seckbach. Painted in 1944 during Amalie Seckbach's imprisonment in Theresienstadt. Pastel and watercolors on drawing paper.

Ketubot 27: Sexual Violence During Shoah

jyungar August 2, 2022

For the source text click/tap here: Ketubot 27

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The Gemara had presented an inconsistency regarding how we evaluate the actions of enemy soldiers during war.

Our Mishnah taught that the women in the city which was overrun by enemy soldiers are all disqualified from marrying any kohanim, as we are concerned that the non-Jewish soldiers had relations with them.

We see that even during war, the soldiers find time to indulge in “other" actions.

We explore the use of sexual violence during the Shoah and the way Rashi interpreted Rav Yitzchok bar Elazar's answer (that the difference is whether the invading army is from a local area or from a distant country.)

Rashi explains that if the attackers are from a nearby country, they have an interest in preserving the property of the local residents, as the invaders wish to have the local residents continue with their commerce in order to pay taxes and tribute to the new rulers.

After the Shoah and the behavior of the Nazis this distinction seems naive.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​