Sotah 4B

בדחטי או בדשערי? ברכיכא או באקושא? תיקו.

Is this speaking of a case where the loaf is made of wheat, which is slippery and takes longer to remove, or is this speaking of a case where the loaf is made of barley, which is easily removed? Is this speaking of a case where the loaf is soft, so that it may catch upon the side of the basket, or a case where the loaf is hard, where this is not a concern? The Talmud states: These questions should stand unresolved.

אמר רב יצחק בר רב יוסף אמר רבי יוחנן: כל אחד ואחד ⁠— בעצמו שיער. והאיכא בן עזאי דלא נסיב?

The Talmud notes: Rav Yitzḥak bar Rav Yosef says that R' Yoḥanan says: Each and every one of these rabbis who presented an opinion with regard to the time needed for the initial stage of sex estimated based on himself, i.e., based on his own experience. The Talmud asks: But there is ben Azzai, who did not marry, so how could he estimate based on his own experience?

איבעית אימא: נסיב ופירש הוה. ואיבעית אימא: מרביה שמיע ליה. ואיבעית אימא: ״סוד ה׳ ליראיו״.

The Talmud answers: If you wish, say that he was married and separated from his wife. And if you wish, say that he heard from his teacher. And if you wish, say his knowledge can be understood based on the verse: “The counsel of YHWH is with them that fear Him” (Psalms 25:14), teaching that those who fear God are privy to knowledge beyond their personal experience.

דרש רב עוירא, זמנין אמר לה משמיה דרבי אמי, וזמנין אמר לה משמיה דרבי אסי: כל האוכל לחם בלא נטילת ידים ⁠— כאילו בא על אשה זונה. שנאמר: ״כי בעד אשה זונה עד ככר לחם״.

§ Having quoted an allusion from the verse: “For on account of a prostitute a man is brought to a loaf of bread” (Proverbs 6:26), the Talmud offers another interpretation of that verse. Rav Avira interpreted a verse homiletically; there were times he said this interpretation in the name of R' Ami and there were times he said it in the name of R' Asi: Concerning anyone who eats bread without washing his hands, it is as if he had sex with a prostitute, as it is stated: “For on account of a prostitute a man is brought to a loaf of bread.”