Midrasch zu Wajikra 18:22
וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃
Bei einem Manne sollst du nicht liegen, wie man bei einem Weibe liegt. Ein Gräuel ist das.
Sifra
11) (Vayikra 20:13) ("And if a man lies with a male, the lyings of a woman, an abomination has been wrought by both of them. They shall be put to death; their blood is in them.") "a man": to exclude a minor. "who lies with a male": Even a minor is implied. "the lyings of a woman": R. Yishmael says: This comes to teach (something about lying with a male) and ends up being taught (something about lying with a female) — that there are two lyings with a woman (for liability, normative and non-normative). "they shall be put to death": by stoning. You say by stoning, but perhaps it is by one of the other death penalties in the Torah; it is, therefore, written "their blood is in them." Just as "their blood is in them" elsewhere (Vayikra 20:27) is by stoning, so, here. We have heard the punishment, but we have not heard the exhortation; it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 18:22) "And with a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman." This is an exhortation only against the active participant. Whence is derived the exhortation against the passive participant? From (Devarim 23:18) "There shall be no harlot from the sons of Israel," and (I Kings 14:24) "And also a harlot (masculine) was in the land; they did according to all the abominations of the nations." (and homosexuality, specifically, is called "abomination.") R. Akiva says (In) "And with a male you shall not lie (tishkav) the lyings of a woman," ("tishkav") can (also) be read as "tishachev" ("be lain with"). R. Chanina b. Iddi says: (A man's) lying with a male and with an animal were included in all of the arayoth (illicit relations). Why did Scripture single them out to call them "abominations"? To teach: Just as these are ervah, deliberate transgression of which is liable to kareth, and unwitting transgression, to a sin-offering, and because of which the Canaanites were exiled, so (for) every ervah which is thus liable, the Canaanites were exiled.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Sifrei Devarim
(Devarim, Ibid.) "They angered Him with abominations": homosexuality, viz. (Vayikra 18:22) "And with a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman; it is an abomination," and (I Kings, Ibid. 14:24) "There was also prostitution in the land; they did all the abominations of the nations, etc."
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy