Keritot 3 – Can One Transgress All Thirty-Six Prohibitions?

We have said that one who transgresses all thirty-six prohibitions in one period of forgetfulness has to bring a sacrifice for each one. But why not bring one “mistake offering” for all? Rabbi Yochanan explained, “Just as the Torah singled out relations with one sister – which it already prohibited – for a separate violation, so too all other violations are separate.” However, others learn the rule of separate sacrifices from an extra word “woman” in the phrase “woman who did not go to a mikva.” How do they use the prohibition of a sister? – To teach that one who has relations with his sister who is also his father's and his mother's sister, brings three sacrifices.

Still, can one violate all thirty-six? Some are applicable only to women, and some – only to men. For example, a woman who brings an animal on herself is liable, but a man is not liable for the same act. On other hand, a man who has relations with another man, is liable, while the woman, of course, is not. So, whether it is talking about a man or a woman, we never get the full count of thirty-six!? – It is talking about a man, but in two different situations: one who cohabited with a male, and another who had a male cohabit with him, and it follows the opinion of Rabbi Ishmael, who counts these as two separate prohibitions.

Art: Pierre Auguste Renoir - Two Women In A Garden