For the source text click/tap here: Yevamot 59
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The Mishna on our daf delineates the rules of a kohen gadol – the High Priest – who is limited by the Torah (see Vayikra 21:10-15) with regard to who he can marry, even more so than an ordinary kohen.
While an ordinary kohen cannot marry a gerusha (divorcee), zona (harlot) or halala (woman who was defiled by a forbidden sexual encounter), the kohen gadol also cannot marry an almana (widow) and may only marry a betula (virgin).
The Gemara discusses the technical definition of these terms in some detail in order to clarify the rules of marriage for both an ordinary kohen and a kohen gadol.
One ruling presented by Rav Shimi bar Hiyya is that a woman who has had relations with an animal does not fall into any of the forbidden categories and a kohen would be permitted to marry her, even though she is liable to receive a death penalty for her actions (if she did it on purpose).
The Gemara then goes on to relate that such a story actually took place. In the town of Hitlu, a young woman was innocently cleaning the house when she was raped by a dog (some manuscripts say it was a kof – a monkey).
We explore the history of bestiality in the antique period from the Hittite codes to the greek Myth of Leda the Swan.