Resources for Kesubos daf 37

1.     The גמרא says that a woman who is מזנה will not get pregnant since she will be מתהפּכת to remove the זרע. The אור גדול in סימן ‌ל"א says that our גמרא should be a proof that a woman is not מצווה on השחתת זרע since if she was then why would we assume that every woman is מתהפּכת to remove the זרע? A woman who was נאנסה did nothing to take away her חזקת כשרות so why would we assume she would do an עברה and try to be מתהפּכת and remove the זרע? He is דוחה the proof by saying perhaps the איסור applies in typical cases, but in a case where a woman was impregnated against her will then she is allowed to be משחית זרעו. The issue is really a מחלוקת ראשונים which is found in many places in ש"ס, including three blatt from now on דף ל"ט ע"א in תוספות in ד"ה שלש נשים. There תוספות brings רש"י that holds there is an איסור השחתת זרע by a lady which is why only three women can use a מוך. However, ר"ת holds there is no איסור for a woman to be משחית זרע and they can all use a מוך after תשמיש. ר"ת  seems to understand that if she isn’t מצווה in פּריה ורביה then she can’t be מצווה in השחתת זרע. תוספות in סנהדרין דף נ"ט ע"ב ד"ה והא says explicitly that anyone מצווה in פּרו ורבו has an איסור of השחתת זרע and one would assume the reverse is true as well. Clearly, רש"י does not agree with this. The ר"י in that תוספות on דף ל"ט agrees with רש"י that there is an איסור for a woman even though she is not מצווה על פּריה ורביה. How would we understand רש"י, the ר"י, and the other ראשונים who pasken that a lady cant be משחית זרע? The אבני נזר in סימן ע"ט אות ט explains this based on a ר"ן in קידושין at the beginning of the second פּרק. There the גמרא says that a woman should accept קידושין herself because מצוה בה יותר מבשלוחה. The ר"ן asks what מצוה does the woman have? She isn’t מצווה in פּרו ורבו! He answers that the מצוה is that she helps her husband accomplish פּרו ורבו. Based on this and other proofs the אבני נזר suggests that according to רש"י she cant be משחית זרע because it stops her from her מצוה of helping her husband with פּרו ורבו. He also says that based on that if someone else did the השחתה for her it would be allowed according to all.

2.     The גמרא says that you have to choose a מיתה יפה for someone who is going to be killed by ב"ד because of ואהבת לרעך כמוך. The שיטה מקובצת has a very interesting question: if this person is a רשע who is going to be killed then why is he considered רעך? The word רעך usually means רעך במצוות so why should you have to choose a nice death for him? The רמ"ה answers that perhaps here רעך can be read רעים שבך. However, the שיטה doesn’t like this פּשט and suggests that he is considered רעך since once a person is punished by ב"ד they go back to being considered רעך (in this case he presumably means right before he is killed he also does תשובה). In the הערות להגר"ש he asks that we find that ב"ד buried people killed by more serious punishments like סקילה away from those killed for lesser punishments like חנק. We seem to see that we don’t view them all as צדיקים after they are killed. וצ"ע.