Sanhedrin Daf 51 סַנהֶדרִין דַף 51

A Baraisa states that one might have thought that a בת כהן is punished with שריפה if she was married to a Kohen, but not if she was married to a Levi, Yisroel, or פסול (e.g., a חלל or ממזר). The Gemara below explains that the passuk says "כי תחל לזנות" – if she profanes herself, implies דקא מתחלא השתא – that she became profaned now, through her adultery, and not where she was previously profaned through marriage. [Marrying a פסול disqualifies her from marrying a Kohen or eating terumah. Even marrying a Levi or Yisroel  temporarily disqualifies her from eating terumah.] Therefore, the passuk states: "ובת איש כהן" – and the daughter of a Kohen, implying: אף על פי שאינה כהנת – even though she herself is not a כהנת, שריפה still applies. This conclusion disagrees with Rebbe Meir: a Baraisa says that a בת כהן married to a Yisroel is exempt from paying the חומש penalty for mistakenly eating terumah (since she may return to eating terumah after her marriage) and is subject to שריפה for adultery. If she married a פסול (e.g., a ממזר), Rebbe Meir says she does pay a חומש, and her adultery is punished with חנק, like an ordinary בת ישראל. The Chochomim disagree.

In the previous Baraisa, Rebbe Eliezer concludes cryptically: את אביה בשריפה ואת חמיה בסקילה – with her father by burning, with her father-in-law by stoning. Four interpretations are suggested, explaining it according to one of three opinions of Tannaim. Rav Nachman said, in Rav’s name, that the halachah follows the first interpretation. Rav Yosef asked: הלכתא למשיחא – are we paskening a halachah which is only relevant for the time of Moshiach, when capital punishment will be reinstated?! Abaye responded: אלא מעתה שחיטת קדשים לא ליתני הלכתא למשיחא – if so, we should not learn [Maseches Zevachim] nowadays, since it is only relevant for the time of Moshiach!? Yet we do learn it, because we say: דרוש וקבל שכר – study it, and receive reward, although it is not practically relevant. The same should apply here!? Rav Yosef explained that his question was that the above discussion was not halachic, but only how to interpret Rebbe Elazar’s words, which we will determine when Moshiach comes, and Rebbe Elazar himself can be asked.

Until now, two opinions have been cited about the application of שריפת בת כהן: the Rabbonon hold it applies only to a נשואה (but an ארוסה receives סקילה), and Rebbe Shimon holds it applies to both. In a Baraisa, Rebbe Yishmael takes a third position: בנערה והיא ארוסה הכתוב מדבר – the passuk is discussing only a naarah who is an arusah (but a נשואה receives the standard חנק). He explains: הכל היו בכלל הנואף והנואפת – All women were initially included in the phrase “the adulterer and the adulteress,” who the passuk says are killed with חנק. Yet, the Torah taught that a בת ישראל is sometimes punished with סקילה, and a בת כהן with שריפה. Just as with a בת ישראל, only an ארוסה was excluded from חנק and given סקילה, so too with a בת כהן, only an ארוסה is excluded from חנק and given שריפה, but a נשואה remains with the standard חנק. Rebbe Akiva says that שריפה applies to both (like the Rabbonon), but darshens a gezeirah shavah (from the case of סקילה) to limit it to a married woman. Although the gezeirah shavah would further limit it to a נערה who is an ארוסה, Rebbe Akiva explains that he darshens the superfluous "ו" in "ובת" to include all married women.