Tuesday, 18 November 2025

Baal Peor and defecation

(Any words in red are my highlighting.)

 

In this blog, I will argue that the rabbinic tradition that Baal Peor worship required one   to expose one’s naked rear to the idol and defecate at him, is incorrect.

Yes, it has been the accepted understanding throughout the Middle Ages and to recent times: as the article of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook “Balak: Eliminating Idolatry”[i]  illustrates and the English translations of the Talmud Bavli sections in Sefaria (below) and by Chabad,[ii] but it is faulty as it is based on the distorted translation of the word פִּיעוּר , and blindly accepting Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 64a.10 as proof.

 

The analysis will show that the defecation idea is only found in one section of the Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 64a.10, and that the Talmud Yerushalmi and Sifri Bamidbar    are correct when they make clear that only nudity was required.

Because nudity or undress is all that the term ּפִּיעוּר means.

 

The analysis will look at the Mishnah law and the three other sources involved:

 

 

Mishnah (c. 200 CE)

Sifri Bamidbar

C . 250 CE

Talmud Yerushalmi

C. 400 CE

Talmud Bavli

c. 500 CE

Baal Peor worship law

Sanhedrin 7.6

 

           Yes

 

     Sifri 131.2 

 

specific re: Baal Poer

Sanhedrin 10.2.15

Sanhedrin

60b. 1-3

and 64a. 14

Balaam’s ruse to seduce Israelites one at a time

 

 

N/A

 

Linen shops

Sifri 131.2

 

Pastry shops

Sanhedrin   10.2.15

Sanhedrin 106a copies  Sifri 131

Linen shops

 

 

Baal Peor Festival banquets

 

N/A

They switch to Baal Peor banquets

Sifri 131.2

 

NO

 

NO

Ruler and troops story

 

N/A

 

YES

 

Sifri 131.2

 

NO

 

NO

Story of Jewish donkey driver

 

N/A

 

YES

 

Sifri 131.2

 

NO

 

Sanhedrin 64a. 13

Spinach and strong drink to defecate

 

       N/A

 

NO

 

NO

 

YES

Sanhedrin 64a.10

 

 

 

Terms used

   פִּיעוּר

 

 

 

·          שתגלה עצמך

·          המפער עצמו

מְגַלֶּה

 

·        פִּיעוּר

 

·        מַתְרִיזִין

 

 

THE BIBLICAL SETTING   Number4s Ch. 22-25 and 31

The entire topic and story of Baal Peor worship actually begins in Numbers Ch. 22   when Balaam, the prophet of God the Eternal, is cajoled to come from Mesopotamia to curse the Israelites by Moab King Balak. But instead of cursing them he blesses them (Num. 24: 6 - 9).  In the next chapter, Chapter 25, the Israelites fall into sexual relations with Moabite women and end up eating Baal Peor sacrificial meats and worshipping the idol. (Num. 25: 1 – 3).

God the Eternal punishes them with a plague. (Num. 25: 3).

While it still rages, a Simeonite prince, Zimri, brings into the Israelite camp a Midianite woman, Cozbi. They walk past Moses and the elders and head to the Simeonites section. Soon they are killed by the young, zealous priest, Pinchus, while they are having sex in Zimri’s tent. (Num. 25: 6 - 8).

The plague instantly ends (Num. 25: 8) and God the Eternal commends Pinchus for his action (Num.25: 11 – 13).

The number of Israelite men killed by the plague is 24,000 (Num.25: 9).

 

Now the story is not over, for in chapter 31, Moses orders an Israelite army to attack    the Midianites, kill all men, enslave the females and take all their wealth and herds: as Midian were not only involved in trying to get Israel cursed by Balaam, but the women also were involved in the seduction of Israelite males alongside the Moabite females.

And Balaam, the prophet from Mesopotamia was in Midianite territory and was killed by the Israelite army (Num.31: 8).

 

For as the Bible states:

טו  וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם, מֹשֶׁה:  הַחִיִּיתֶם, כָּל-נְקֵבָה.

15 And Moses said unto them: 'Have ye saved all the women

alive?

טז  הֵן הֵנָּה הָיוּ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בִּדְבַר בִּלְעָם, לִמְסָר-מַעַל בַּיהוָה, עַל-דְּבַר-פְּעוֹר; וַתְּהִי הַמַּגֵּפָה, בַּעֲדַת יְהוָה.

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of

the LORD.

 

 

So Balaam’s advice is somehow to blame for the fall into idolatry and the plague that killed 24,000 Israelite men.

 

Balaam and the deaths of 24,000 Israelite males 

 

Q:  How were over 24,000 Israelite males seduced and led into pagan worship?

 

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 106a, 8 – 11 gives the following answer, copied from Sifri Bamidbar 131. 1 and 2[iii]

 

Balaam told Balak Israelite men like linen clothing and following Balaam’s detailed advice, Balak set up a huge row of such shops all the way along the road between      Beth Hayeshimoth until Har Hashaleg: each with an old woman outside and a sexy female inside.

 

When the Israelite men would go walking after eating and drinking (at home), they would see the shops and enter to buy linen clothing.

 

Only on the 3rd or 4th visit (Sifri say 3rd) -- after they bought clothing for two or three days in a row -- did the sex woman inside offer the Israelite strong drink and, when he became aroused and asked to have sex with her, she said: only once you  defecate [following the standard reading] in front of my idol (which she held up in her lap).      The Israelite agreed and did so without realizing this was how Baal Peor was worshipped.

 

 

 

Now, despite the standard interpretation of this passage, there is, in fact, no mention of defecation in the original texts: in the Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 106a. 8 – 11 passages,  nor the Talmud Bavli’s source, Sifri Bamidbar 131. 1-2.  Even the Talmud Yerushalmi’s slightly variant text never mentions defecation.

 

All three simply say ”to become naked”. (See further below.)

 

The frequent use of the word ּפִּיעוּר  is a play on words re: Baal Peor, as the Mishna states:   הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר – הֲרֵי זֶה עֲבוֹדָתוֹ

 

But all the word ּפִּיעוּר  actually means is “undress” or “become naked” as per    Jastrow’s dictionary,[iv]

 

ר (b. h.) 1) to open wide. Pesik. R. s. 4, end פָּעֲרָה החרובית עצמה וכ׳ a carob tree opened itself and swallowed him. Midr. Till. to Ps. CXIX, 131 פָּעַרְתִּי פי לתורתך I open my mouth for thy Law; כשם שפּוֹעֲרִים … למלקוש as people open their mouth for the late rain (to inhale it); a. e. —2) to uncover (one’s self), esp. to commit a nuisance before the idol Peor. Snh. VII, 6 הפּוֹעֵר עצמו לבעל פעור וכ׳ he who uncovers himself before Baal Peor (is guilty, for) this is the mode of worshipping him. Yalk. Hos. 526 כלום … אלא שתִּפְעוֹר עצמך לו they ask of thee only that thou uncover thyself before him. Snh. 64ᵃ פ׳ בפניו he eased himself before him; a. fr.

 

Moreover, both the Sifri and Talmud Yerushalmi make clear that הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ is a synonym for the other term they both use, the common Hebrew שתגלה עצמך.

 

  

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 106a. 8 – 11[v]                                                                                                        

                                (Reformatted to have all English sections together and in paragraphs. Also, my red.)

 

אָמַר לָהֶם: אֱלֹהֵיהֶם שֶׁל אֵלּוּ שׂוֹנֵא זִימָּה הוּא, וְהֵם מִתְאַוִּים לִכְלֵי פִשְׁתָּן. בּוֹא וְאַשִּׂיאֲךָ עֵצָה: עֲשֵׂה לָהֶן קְלָעִים, וְהוֹשֵׁיב בָּהֶן זוֹנוֹת, זְקֵינָה מִבַּחוּץ וְיַלְדָּה מִבִּפְנִים, וְיִמְכְּרוּ לָהֶן כְּלֵי פִשְׁתָּן.

 

עָשָׂה לָהֶן קְלָעִים מֵהַר שֶׁלֶג עַד בֵּית הַיְשִׁימוֹת, וְהוֹשִׁיב בָּהֶן זוֹנוֹת, זְקֵינָה מִבַּחוּץ וְיַלְדָּה מִבִּפְנִים. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל אוֹכְלִין וְשׁוֹתִין וּשְׂמֵחִין וְיוֹצְאִין לְטַיֵּיל בְּשׁוּק, אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ הַזְּקֵינָה: אִי אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ כְּלֵי פִשְׁתָּן? זְקֵינָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ בְּשָׁוֶה, וְיַלְדָּה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ בְּפָחוֹת, שְׁתַּיִם וְשָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים.

 

 

וְאַחַר כָּךְ אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ: הֲרֵי אַתְּ כְּבֶן בַּיִת, שֵׁב בְּרוֹר לְעַצְמְךָ. וְצַרְצוּרי שֶׁל יַיִן עַמּוֹנִי מוּנָּח אֶצְלָהּ, וַעֲדַיִין לֹא נֶאֱסַר יַיִן שֶׁל עַמּוֹנִי וְלֹא יַיִן שֶׁל גּוֹיִם. אָמְרָה לוֹ: רְצוֹנֶךָ שֶׁתִּשְׁתֶּה כּוֹס שֶׁל יַיִן? כֵּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁתָה, בָּעַר בּוֹ.

 

אֲמַר לָהּ: הִשָּׁמֵיעִי לִי. הוֹצִיאָה יִרְאָתָהּ מִתּוֹךְ חֵיקָהּ, אָמְרָה לוֹ: עֲבוֹד לָזֶה! אֲמַר לָהּ: הֲלֹא יְהוּדִי אֲנִי? אָמְרָה לוֹ: וּמָה אִיכְפַּת לְךָ? כְּלוּם מְבַקְּשִׁים מִמְּךָ אֶלָּא פִּיעוּר? [וְהוּא אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁעֲבוֹדָתָהּ בְּכָךְ]. וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵינִי מַנַּחְתְּךָ עַד שֶׁתִּכְפּוֹר בְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה רַבְּךָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֵמָּה בָּאוּ בַּעַל פְּעוֹר וַיִּנָּזְרוּ לַבֹּשֶׁת  וַיִּהְיוּ שִׁקּוּצִים כְּאׇהֳבָם״.

 

 

Sefaria translation:

 

Balaam said to them: The God of these Jewish people despises lewdness, and they desire linen garments, as they have no new garments; come, and I will give you advice. Make for them enclosures using wall hangings and seat prostitutes in them, with an old woman outside the enclosure and a young woman inside, and have the women sell them linen garments.

 

Balak made for them enclosures using wall hangings from the snow mountain, the Ḥermon, until Beit HaYeshimot, and he sat prostitutes in them, with an old woman outside and a young woman on the inside. And at the time when Jewish people were eating and drinking and were glad and going out to stroll in the marketplace, the old woman would say to a Jew: Aren’t you seeking linen garments? He would enter the enclosure and ask the price, the old woman would quote him a price equal to its value, and the young woman would quote him a price less than its value. That scenario would repeat itself twice or three times.   

 

And thereafter she would say to him: You are like a member of our household, sit and choose for yourself the merchandise that you want. And a jug of Ammonite wine was placed near her, and neither Ammonite wine nor gentile wine had been prohibited yet for Jews. She said to him: Is it your wish to drink a cup of wine? Once he drank the wine, his evil inclination burned within him.

 

He then said to her: Submit to me and engage in intercourse with me. She then removed the idol that she worshipped from her lap and said to him: Worship this. He said to her: Am I not Jewish? I am therefore forbidden from engaging in idol worship. She said to him: And what is your concern? We are asking you to do nothing more than defecate [correct: undress]in its presence. But he does not know that its worship is conducted in that manner. Once he did so, she said to him: Moreover,  I will not leave you until you deny the Torah of Moses your teacher, as  it is stated: “But when they came to Ba’al-Peor they separated themselves to the shameful item; and they became detestable like that which they loved” (Hosea 9:10). They devoted themselves to the disgrace of defecation, and detested the name of God.  [correct: literal translation of the last verse is: “They turned aside from wearing clothing and were detestable in their affection [to Baal Peor].”

 

 

Sifri Bamidbar 131.1      (My red highlighting.)

 

(NOTE: For some reason, this passage is only found in the English translation          of Sefaria, as if its Hebrew text somehow ‘lost this section’ in online printing.)

 

Come, I (Bilam [sic]) will counsel you" (how to undo Moav [sic]). He said to them: The G-d of this people hates harlotry, and they lust after flaxen garments. Come and I will counsel you. Put up tents for them, and seat old women outside and a young girl inside, and let them sell them flaxen garments, etc."

 

 

Sifri Bamidbar 131.2

                                          (My paragraphing and red highlighting.)

 

– באו וישבו להם בשטים, במקום השטות. באותה שעה עמדו עמונים ומואבים, ובנו להם מקולין מבית הישימות ועד הר השלג, והושיבו שם נשים, ומוכרים כל מיני בשמים. והיו לישראל אוכלים ושותים. באותה שעה אדם יוצא לטייל, ומבקש ליקח לו חפץ מן הזקנה, והיתה מוכרת לו בשוויו; וקטנה קוראה ואמרה לו מבפנים "בוא וקח לך בפחות", והיה הוא לוקח הימנה ביום הראשון וביום השני, וביום השלישי אמרה לו "היכנס לפנים וברור לך לעצמך, אי אתה בן בית?" והיה נכנס אצלה, והצרצור מלא יין מיין העמוני, שעדין לא נאסר יינן של גוים לישראל. אמרה לו: "רצונך שתשתה יין?" – והוא היה שותה, והיה היין בוער בו, ואומר לה "השמעי לי!" והיא מוציאה דפוס של פעור מתחת פסיקין שלה, ואומרת לו: : "רבי, רצונך שאשמע לך? – השתחוה לזה!" ואומר לה: "וכי לע"ז אני משתחוה?" אמרה לו: "וכי מה איכפת לך? – אינו אלא שתגלה עצמך לו!" מכאן אמרו "המפער עצמו לבעל פעור הרי זה עבודה". והיה היין בוער בו, ואומר לה "השמיעי לי!" ואומרת לו: "רצונך שאשמע לך? – הנזר מתורתו של משה", והוא נזור, שנאמר (הושע ט׳:י׳) "וינזרו לבושת "ויהיו שקוצים כאהבם"

 

 

 

.Sefaria translation

 

Variantly:  "... They came and sat in Shittim," in the place of sitoth.  At that time Ammonim [sic] and Moavim arose and built markets for themselves from Beth Hayeshimoth until Har Hashaleg, where they   installed harlots, old ones outside and young ones within, who sold flaxen garments.

 

When an Israelite would eat and drink and make merry and go out to promenade and to buy something from the old one, she would offer it to him at cost, whereupon the young one would call out to him from within, saying "Come and buy it for less," and he did so. The same, the next day and the day after. The third day she would say to him "Come inside and pick for yourself — you're like one of the family." He obliged. The pitcher near her was full of Ammoni wine, the wine of idolators having not yet been forbidden to Israelites. She: "Would you like to drink some wine?" He obliged, and when the wine burned in him he said to her "Consent to me,"   at which she took an image of Peor from under her breast-band and said to him: "My master, if you want me to consent to you, bow down to this." He: "Can I bow down to idolatry?" She: "What difference does it make to you? I am only asking that you bare yourself [שתגלה עצמך]  before him." (The sages [ Mishna halacha] ruled that baring oneself  [המפער עצמו] to Peor is its mode of worship.)

The wine burned in him and he said "Consent to me." She: "If you want me to consent to you, 'veer off' from the Torah of Moses." And he did so, as it is written (Hoshea 10:10) "They veered off to shame (i.e., to idolatry); and they became detestable (to Me) in loving (the daughters of Moav)."

 

So, there is no defecation in the above Sifri text.

 

The Israelite males were simply asked to undress and stand naked: literally, “to expose oneself”  שתגלה עצמך .

 

As in the story of Noah when he got drunk and slept naked.

 

Gen. 9: 21

וַיֵּשְׁתְּ מִן-הַיַּיִן, וַיִּשְׁכָּר; וַיִּתְגַּל, בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֹה.

           21 And He drank of the      wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

 

Or Lev. 18: 6 -19 where incestuous relationships are all described as “exposing the naked of …”

 

ו  אִישׁ אִישׁ אֶל-כָּל-שְׁאֵר בְּשָׂרוֹ, לֹא תִקְרְבוּ לְגַלּוֹת עֶרְוָה:  אֲנִי, יְהוָה. 

6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD. 

 

Sifri even proceeds to link this simple ‘nakedness’ to the halacha wording of the Mishnah: the play-on-words ruling:


 

 

אמרו "המפער עצמו לבעל פעור הרי זה עבודה"

 

 

(Mishna Sanhedrin 7.6; also found as Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a. 14 and Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10.2.15)

 

So, in the eyes of Sifri, the word פעור  and its reflexive המפער עצמו, are synonyms for the reflexive  שתגלה עצמך -- which everyone knows means “to expose oneself” or “be nude”.

 

No defecation or diarrhea involved; just nudity.

 

 

Talmud Yerushalmi variant

 The Talmud Yerushalmi, complied in the Galilee c. 400 CE,[vi] presents the exact same ruse with a sexy woman inside, multiple trips, strong drink and a miniature Baal idol, but does not mention linen clothing as the ploy, but rather pastries.

And the form of worship to Baal Peor was simply undressing and standing naked before the idol.


Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10.2.15[vii]

 

וְכִי מָה עָשָׂה בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע. עַל יְדֵי שֶׁנָּתַן עֵצָה לְבָלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר לְהַפִּיל אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּחֶרֶב. אָמַר לוֹ. אֱלוּהַּ שֶׁלְּאוּמָּה הַזּוֹ הוּא שׂוֹנֶא אֶת זְנוּת. אֶלָּא הֶעֱמִידוּ בְנוֹתֵיכֶם בְּזִימָּה וְאַתֶּם שׁוֹלְטִין בָּהֶן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ. וּמִישְׁמַע לִי אִינּוּן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ. אֲקִים בִּנְתָּךְ קוֹמוֹי וִינּוּן חַמְיָין וְשָׁמְעִין לָךְ. הָדָא הִיא דִכְתִיב רֹאשׁ אוּמּוֹת בֵּית אָב בְּמִדְיָן הוּא. מָה עָשׂוּ. בָּנוּ לָהֶן קִנְקְלִין מִבֵּית הַיְשִׁימוֹן עַד הַר הַשֶּׁלֶג וְהוֹשִׁיבוּ שָׁם נָשִׁים מוֹכְרוּת מִינֵי כִיסְנִין. הוֹשִׁיבוּ אֶת הַזְּקֵינָה מִבַּחוּץ וְאֶת הַנַּעֲרָה מִבִּפְנִים. וְהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹכְלִין וְשׁוֹתִין. וְהָיָה אֶחָד מֵהֶן יוֹצֵא לְטַיֵיל בַּשּׁוּק וְלִיקַּח לוֹ חֵפֶץ מִן הַחֶנְוָונִי. וְהָיְתָה הַזְּקֵינָה מוֹכֶרֶת לוֹ אֶת הַחֵפֶץ בְּשָׁוְייוֹ וְהַנַּעֲרָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. בֹּא וְטוֹל לָךְ בְּפָחוּת. כֵּן בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְכֵן בַּיּוֹם הַשֵׁנִי וְכֵן בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי. וְהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. מִיכָּן וְהֵילַךְ אַתָּה כְבֶן בַּיִת. הִיכָּנֵס וּבוֹר לָךְ. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהָיָה נִכְנַס הָיָה שָׁם צַרְצוּר מָלֵא יַיִן מִן הַיַּיִן הָעֲמוֹנִי שֶׁהוּא קָשֶׁה וְהוּא מְפַתֶּה אֶת הַגּוּף לִזְנוּת. וְהָיָה רֵיחוֹ מְפַעְפֵעַ. וְאַדַּיִין לֹא נֶאֱסָר (יֵיְנָן שֶׁלְּגוֹיִם) [יַיִן נֶסֶךְ] עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. רְצוֹנְךָ לִשְׁתּוֹת כּוֹס יַיִן. וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לָהּ. הֵין. וְהִיא נוֹתֶנֶת לוֹ וְהוּא שׁוֹתֶה. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹתֶה הָיָה הַיַיִן בּוֹעֵר בּוֹ כִכְרִיסָה שֶׁלַּחֲכִינָה. וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לָהּ. הִישָּׁמְעִי לִי. וְהִיא אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. רְצוֹנְךָ שֶׁאֶשְׁמַע לָךְ. וְהוּא אוֹמֵר. הֵין. מִיָּד הָיְתָה מוֹצִיאָה לוֹ טִפּוֹס שֶׁלִּפְעוֹר מִתּוֹךְ חֵיקָהּ שֶׁלָּהּ וְהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. הִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָזֶה וַאֲנִי נִשְׁמַעַת לָךְ. וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לָהּ. וְכִי לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה אֲנִי מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה. וְהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ. אֵין אַתְּ מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶלָּא בִּמְגַלֶּה עַצְמָךְ לוֹ. זוֹ הִיא שֶׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים. הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר זוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָתוֹ…  

 

But what did the evil Bileam [sic] do? Because he counseled Balaq [sic] ben Ṣippor to fell Israel by the sword. He told him, the God of this people hates whoring. If you put up your daughters for whoring, you may rule over them. He answered, but will they listen to me? He told him, put your own daughter up, they will see and listen to you. That is what is written: he is the head of related tribes in Midian. What did they do? They built dining rooms from Bet Hayyešimon to the Snow Mountain and installed there women selling pastries. They put an old woman outside and a young girl inside.

 

Israel were eating and drinking. If one of them went to stroll around, to buy himself something from the grocer, the old woman would offer to sell to him for the going price, but the girl told him, come and take it for less. This happened that first day, the second day, the third day. After that, she told him, from now on you are like a member of the family; enter and select for yourself.

 

When he entered, there was a pitcher full of wine, of the strong Ammonite wine which seduces the body to whoring. Its smell was seething and (Gentile wine) [libation wine] was not yet forbidden for Israel. She told him, maybe you want to drink a cup of wine? He answered her, yes. She gave to him and he drank. When he drank, the wine was burning in him like a viper’s poison; he told her, consent to me.

 

She told him, do you want me to consent to you? He answered, yes. Immediately she took out a shape of Peor from her bosom and told him, bow down before this one and I shall consent to you. But he answered her, should I bow down before foreign worship?

 

She told him, you do not bow down, you only strip for it. This is what the Sages said, “one who defecates [sic, obviously incorrect in this setting for “being naked”] in front of Baal Peor follows its worship [Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:6] ...”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talmud Yerushalmi – just like Sifri 131 – uses the unequivocal, common Hebrew for    “to be nude"   בִּמְגַלֶּה עַצְמָךְ .

And like Sifri, Talmud Yerushalmi cites the Mishnah law to show  ְמְגַלֶּה עַצְמָךְ   means the same as ִּ הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ.

 Again, the word ּ פעורsimply means ‘to be nude” or undressed.  No defecation involved.


So, the Mishna’s play-on-words  עֲבוֹדָתו הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר – הֲרֵי זֶה  

has long been misunderstood and mistranslated for centuries.

 

The Mishna law should be understood to say, and correctly be translated as:


Exposing one’s naked body to a Baal Peor statue

is its form of worship.

For too long, the above correct understanding and translation of this law and word ְּפעור have been ‘missed’ as Sifri Bamidbar 131 and Talmud Yerushalmi in general, have taken a back seat to the Talmud Bavli  -- if studied at all.


DEFECATION IDEA

 So how did the idea that Baal Peor worship involve defecation arise?

The understanding that has been accepted by all rabbinic sources to modern times as noted at the outset?

It is all based on one sole text, Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a.10.

Sanhedrin 64a.10 explains that the Baal Peor temple priests would give worshippers spinach and strong drink, and this combination would cause immediate diarrhea – which the worshipper was to aim at the Baal Peor statue.

  

Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a. 10 [viii] 

 

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּגוֹיָה אַחַת שֶׁהָיְתָה חוֹלָה בְּיוֹתֵר, אָמְרָה: אִם תַּעֲמוֹד הָהִיא אִשָּׁה מֵחוֹלְיָהּ, תֵּלֵךְ וְתַעֲבוֹד לְכׇל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם. עָמְדָה וְעָבְדָה לְכׇל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם. כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעָה לִפְעוֹר, שָׁאֲלָה לַכּוֹמָרִים: בַּמָּה עוֹבְדִין לָזוֹ? אָמְרוּ לָהּ: אוֹכְלִין תְּרָדִין וְשׁוֹתִין שֵׁכָר וּמַתְרִיזִין בְּפָנֶיהָ. אָמְרָה: מוּטָב שֶׁתַּחֲזוֹר הָהִיא אִשָּׁה לְחוֹלְיָהּ וְלֹא תַּעֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה בְּכָךְ.

 

 

§ Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: An incident occurred involving a certain gentile woman who was very ill. She said: If that woman, referring to herself, recovers from her illness, she will go and worship every object of idol worship in the world. She recovered from her illness and subsequently worshipped every object of idol worship in the world. When she arrived at Peor she asked the priests: How does one worship this idol? They said to her: One eats spinach, which causes diarrhea, and drinks beer, which also causes diarrhea, and defecates before it. The woman said: Better for that woman, referring to herself, to return to her illness, and not worship an idol in such a manner.

 

 

 

Now, for all the Sefaria’s English use of the word diarrhea (twice) and defecates (once), the original text only states (once) that the two mixed together caused מַתְרִיזִין.

 

But Jastrow’s dictionary defines it as:

  Succ. 53ᵇ ; Yoma 77ᵃ ומתריזין , v. פָּרַע ; Kidd. 72ᵇ ומתריזין זעמען . Nif. - ניתרְרַז to    be shocked, frightened; to be seized with a panic . Lev. R. s. 1 ומתרריזין מתוח וכשׁ ,

 

Shock/Panic and diarrhea are not one and the same.

Nevertheless, the Sefaria translation, while not literal, is consistent with the emotional state of a person suddenly suffering diarrhea due to a double dose of laxatives.

So the translation’s intent and the passage text itself, do make clear defecation is involved.

 

The Sanhedrin 64a.10 account and recipe are presented in the name of Rabbi Yehuda who is quoting Rav: a standard Talmudic way of identifying a source, and both Rabbi Yehuda and Rav were highly regarded.

So this ‘second hand testimony’ was accepted as accurate.

 

One quibble, though. 

The text’s wording is that one having diarrhea is to face HER, i.e., a female idol  וּמַתְרִיזִין בְּפָנֶיהָ.  But Baal is a MALE god so it should have read וּמַתְרִיזִין בְּפָנֶיהוֹ  

 

Sefaria’s English uses “it” – as does the Chabad edition[ix] , and this obscures the gender issue.

But the highly regarded Torah scholar and translator, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has:

What do we worship for this? They said to her: We eat tardin (which are laxatives), and we drink the reward that is also laxative. And they excrete feces in front of her.[x]  (My red and enlargement.)

 

In other words, the text and its laxative recipe for idol worship is for a female goddess  – and not Baal.

Moreover, neither the Sifri 131 nor Talmud Yerushalmi ever mention such a recipe or ritual in regards to Baal Peor.

 

Now if one were to argue the rabbis were ‘coy’ and avoided saying “diarrhea” and   used פִּיעוּר (to open) as a euphemism, one must remember the rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud Bavli (and Talmud Yerushalmi) were far from ‘coy’.

 

The Mishnah and Talmud are not coy on other subjects that many deem disgusting or obscene or ‘too intimate’.

E.g., The detailed analysis of forms of homosexuality and bestiality (by males and females) that continue (at times back and forth) from Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 54a.11 through 55a. 12).

E.g. female menstrual cycle and abnormalities therein in Mishna volume Nidda and Talmud Bavli volume Niddah.[xi]

So, the idea that the ancient rabbinic texts of Sifri and Talmud Bavli simply use  פִּיעוּר  because they were too shy or embarrassed to openly mention diarrhea, is ludicrous.

 

OTHER PROBLEMS

transparent

1.   The rabbinic tradition of Balaam’s ruse to get 24,000+ Israelite men into pagan worship: the starting point of the discussions of how Baal Peor was worshiped (Number ch. 25), as ‘fleshed out’ in Sifri Bamidbar 131.2, copied in Talmud Bavli, and its variant in Talmud Yerushalmi, all concur the drink given the Israelites was to induce sexual lust – not diarrhea.

 

That is, the original Balaam ruse tradition is inconsistent with and contradicts Talmud Bavli’s 64a.10 idea for Baal Peor worship.

 

The Israelite men in the shops became overwhelmed with sexual lust after taking the strong drink; not the urge to poo or defecate as per 64a.10.

 

Put simply, you cannot have it both ways: sexual arousal and diarrhea are not one and the same.

 

 

2.   The story of the Jewish donkey driver needs to be rethought.

 

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 64a. 13 copies the Sifri Bamidbar 131.2 account of               a Jewish donkey driver who visits Baal’s temple at Peor.

 

Here is the original Sifri Bamidbar 131.2 text and Sefaria translation.

 

. שוב מעשה בסבטיא מאולם, שהשכיר את חמורו לאשה גויה. כיון שיצתה לפתחה של מדינה, אמרה לו: המתן עד שתכנס לבית ע"ז שלה. לאחר שיצתה, אמר לה: המתיני לי עד שאכנס, ואעשה כדרך שעשיתה. אמרה לו: אפשר אתה? יהודי? נכנס וקינח עצמו בחוטמו של פעור, והיו כל הגוים משחקים לו ואומרים: לא עשה אדם אחד כיוצא בזה!

 

Once, Sabbatia of Ullas hired out his donkey to a gentile woman. When she came to the outskirts of the province, she said to him: "Wait until I bare myself [correct literal text is: do pagan worship] in its [ Hebrew is HER] temple." After she left, he said to her "Wait for me until I go in and do as you did." She: "But you are a Jew!" He: "What difference does it make to you?" He went in, (did his "devotions,") and wiped himself on the nose of Peor — whereupon the gentiles praised him, saying "No one ever equaled you in this (worship)."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a. 13[xii]

 

 

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּסַבְטָא בֶּן אַלָּס, שֶׁהִשְׂכִּיר חֲמוֹרוֹ לְגוֹיָה אַחַת. כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעָה לִפְעוֹר, אָמְרָה לוֹ: הַמְתֵּן עַד שֶׁאֶכָּנֵס וְאֵצֵא. לְאַחַר שֶׁיָּצְאָה, אָמַר לָהּ: אַף אַתְּ הַמְתִּינִי עַד שֶׁאֶכָּנֵס וְאֵצֵא. אָמְרָה לוֹ: וְלֹא יְהוּדִי אַתָּה? אָמַר לָהּ: וּמַאי אִיכְפַּת לִיךְ? נִכְנַס, פָּעַר בְּפָנָיו וְקִינַּח בְּחוֹטְמוֹ. וְהָיוּ כּוֹמָרִין מְקַלְּסִין לוֹ וְאוֹמְרִים: מֵעוֹלָם לֹא הָיָה אָדָם שֶׁעֲבָדוֹ לָזֶה בְּכָךְ.

 

 

 

The Gemara relates another incident with regard to Ba’al-Peor. The Sages taught: There was an incident involving a Jew named Sabbeta ben Alas, who rented out his donkey and his services to a certain gentile woman. He was driving his donkey behind her, and when she arrived at Peor, she said to him: Wait here until I go in and come out. After she came out, he said to her: You too wait for me until I go in and come out. She said to him: Aren’t you Jewish? Why, then, are you worshipping idols? He said to her: And what do you care? He entered and defecated [ correct: stood naked]  before the idol, and wiped himself with its nostril, as he wanted to demean the idol as much as possible. But he was unsuccessful, as the priests of Peor were praising him and saying: No person has ever worshipped it before with this excellent form of worship. Although he intended to demean Ba’al-Peor, he actually worshipped it.

 

 

In the two versions, the Jewish driver ‘wipes himself’ on the idol’s nose and, surprisingly, is praised by the temple priests for such extraordinary, pious devotion.

oldlace

 

Hence, based on this story, the Talmud Bavli version of the Mishna law (Sanhedrin 7.6) adds that “even to mock an idol by carrying out an unusual action before it, is still forbidden.”

 

 

Mishna Sanhedrin 7.6[xiii]

 

הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר, זוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָתוֹ

 

Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a.14 [xiv]

 

       (My red to highlight the addition.)

 

הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר – הֲרֵי זֶה עֲבוֹדָתוֹ, אַף עַל גַּב דְּמִיכַּוֵּין לְבִיזּוּי

 

 

 

The halachic texts, properly translated, should be translated:

 

Mishna Sanhedrin 7.6

 

Exposing one’s naked body to a Baal Peor (statue)

is its form of worship.

 

Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a.14

 

Exposing one’s naked body to a Baal Peor (statue)

is its form of worship: even if done in a mocking fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

 Again,  הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ simply means to ‘undress’ and ‘make oneself naked’.

 

  There is no “defecates”, no “defecating” and no “defecation”.

 

One should also note that there are two major differences between the Sifri text and its copy in the Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin re: the Jewish donkey driver account.

1.     1. The form of worship is not given in Sifri for either the gentile woman or the Jewish donkey driver; only his rubbing himself on the idol’s nose.

Talmud Bavli, however, as it presents this account directly after the spinach-strong drink laxative and diarrhea account, inserts into the Sifri text the word פָּעַר בְּפָנָיו with the understanding פָּעַר: though literally meaning “become naked”, is connected the diarrhea ritual of Sanhedrin 64a.10.

The Talmud Bavli, therefore, suggests the Jewish donkey driver rubbed his poo coved buttocks and anus on the Baal idol’s nose. 

What should have been seen as a most disrespectful and disgusting act, was applauded by the priests.

But an implication of diarrhea ‘wiping’ is not the literal meaning of פָּעַר.

 

 2.     Sifri again makes clear the idol was female and not a male Baal Peor.

 

The gentile woman says she is going to do worship to her =

ז שלהשתכנס לבית ע" .  A key gender detail omitted in the Talmud Bavli.



Lastly, that the donkey driver rubbing himself on the idol’s nose is problematic.

It is possible if the idol were a miniature statue as held by the Moabite woman on her lap in the Balaam ruse tradition, or in a nook in one’s home for family worship, but temples were monumental buildings and so too the idols inside.  At least 3 to 4 times the size of a human: to reflect their superhuman and supernatural power.

And, if nothing else, so that those at the back of a huge crowd of worshippers could see at a distance -- over the heads of others -- the face or upper body of the god they were worshipping.

 

So, I suggest that if this account referred to inside a temple, the Jewish donkey driver could only touch and rub the idols lower limbs, i.e., legs or feet.

 

 The ruler and his troops


Sifri Bamidbar 131.2 includes a Baal Peor worship anecdote not copied by the Talmud Bavli (and also absent in the Talmud Yerushalmi).

Namely, starting the very next word, i.e., immediately after the Jewish donkey driver account, Sifri records that a ruler and his troops came to the Baal Peor temple. When he asked which animal he should sacrifice to worship Baal Peor, the priests replied that no animals are to be sacrificed. He should just undress and stand naked.

This so enraged the ruler that he ordered his troops to kill all the priests.


This account should mark the end to Baal Peor worship.

And maybe this is why Talmud Bavli did not copy it as well.

 

Sifri Bamidbar[hg1]  131.2[xv]  (My red.)

 

שוב מעשה בשלטון אחד, שבא ממדינת הים להשתחוות לפעור. אמר להם: הביאו פר אחד שאנו מקריבים לו, או איל אחד שאנו מקריבים לו. אמרו לו: אין אנו נזקקים לו בכך, אלא שתגלה עצמך לו. גירה בהם סנגדודים, והיו מפצעים את ראשיהם. אמר להם: אוי לכם ולטעותיכם.

 

Once, a governor came from abroad to bow down to Peor. When he said to them "Bring a bullock or a ram, which we sacrifice to it," they said to him "We don't worship him in that manner. All you have to do is bare yourself before it" — whereupon he loosed his cohorts upon them, who split their skulls, (the governor) saying "Woe unto you and to your error!"

 

Again, the Sifri clearly states the form of Baal Peor worship was simply to undress    and stand naked, שתגלה עצמך .

 

 


Why is nudity an issue?

 

Even the pagan ruler mentioned in Sifri was outraged that he was expected to stand nude before the idol in front of its priests and attendants – and also his troops. To expose publicly his genitals and any ravages of disease, warfare and old age.

 

Adam and Eve were created naked and, at birth, so too all ensuing humans.

But being naked in public has been, since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, shameful, embarrassing and to be avoided at all costs in Judaism and Jewish culture.

 

transparent

We are not like the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans who required competitive runners, long jumpers, discus throwers, wrestlers and similar athletic competitors to compete in the nude.[xvi] A practice that led young Jewish athletes to try and reverse circumcision in order to ‘fit in’ as recorded in 1 Maccabees 1.15. [xvii]

 

Nor are we Wiccans who traditionally practice(d) their pagan worship with group dancing and related acts in the nude.[xviii]

 


So, nudity, I suggest -- based on the evidence of Siri Bamidbar and Talmud Yerushalmi -- was the real and only element of Baal Peor worship.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

                                            

The predominance of Talmud Bavli in Torah study compared to the study of Talmud Yerushalmi and Sifri Bamidbar, has misled generations as to the actual nature of Baal Peor worship: based on the one passage, Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 64a.10.  And its diarrhea ritual was not for the worship of male Baal Peor but a female goddess. A HER.

 

So too the passage with the gentile woman and Jewish donkey driver.  It too refers to the deity as a HER.

 

Lastly, to confuse a diarrhea cocktail with a drink that was to produce sexual arousal in Israelite men (to get them to agree to pagan worship – even in jest – if held by a sexy Moabite female as a precondition for immediate sex) is mind boggling.

 

Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a.10 contradicts the key story of Balaam’s ruse to trick Israelites into Baal worship.

 

And Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 64a. 10 has lead Torah scholars and rabbis for centuries to ignore the literal meaning of פִּיעוּר: which simply means to undress and be naked.

 

Just like in the Talmud Yerushalmi and Sifri Bamidbar 131 parallel texts with their unambiguous, common Hebrew  עַצְמָךְ מְגַלֶּה .

 


[ii] Chabad translations of Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 106a, 64a and 60b. https://www.chabad.org/torah-texts/5458670/The-Talmud/Sanhedrin/Chapter-11/106a

[x] Sanhedrin 64a:10 with Steinsaltz right sidebar under commentaries

[xi] See Sefaria article from Women in Talmud at https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/469641?lang=bi

[xvii] “They disguised their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.” NABRE translation found athttps://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Maccabees%201%3A15

 [hg1]

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