Sanhedrin 55 – Self-Copulation

Rav Achadboi bar Ami asked Rav Sheshet, "If one copulates with himself, what is the law?" In other words, if one bends his organ underneath himself until it touches his orifice, is he liable for sodomy? Rav Sheshet answered him, "You upset us with impossible questions!"

In discussing this, Rav Ashi said to Ravina, "What point is in question to you?" You should be able to resolve the inquiry on your own, as follows. In a state of erection, you cannot find such a case. Therefore, you can only find such a case when the organ is limp. According to the view which says that one is not liable when he copulates with a woman forbidden to him by using a limp organ - here, too, he is not liable. On the view that one IS liable for such copulation in the case of a forbidden woman, here, too, he is obviously liable to two sin offerings: one for committing the copulative act and one for submitting to the copulative act.

Art: Young Man in Reverie by John Singer Sargent