For the source text click/tap here: Yevamot 55
To download, click/tap here: PDF
The need to define the act of bi’ah (sexual intercourse) is essential in order to know when that significant act has taken place in a number of halakhic settings.
Our daf suggests that in the vast majority of cases, the definition is ha’arah – a simple act of touching (in Shmuel’s words, “a kiss”). Although the focus of the Gemara is on the male organ, it appears that the conclusion is clear: penetration – of even miniscule proportions – of the man into the woman.
We explore these notions of coitus and its definition in antiquity with the work of Brodsky and Boyarin.