The Gemora asks an unresolved question about a case where 'shivchas zera' remains in the body of a non-Jew for 3 days. We take for granted that the 'anxiety for mitzvos' is what causes the body of a Jew to be warmer while we question if the eating of creeping and crawling creatures would produce the same heat in the body of a non-Jew. The Rambam [Avos Hatumah 5,16] rules such a case to be Safek Tameh.
From the simple straight-forward reading of the Gemora, this seems to be a biological query. I would therefore ask the Halacha in the context of the Gemora, in the following three cases:
1)What would be the status of a Jew who is not 'anxious for mitzvos'?
2)What would be the status of a non-Jew who does not eat creeping and crawling creatures?
3)What would be the status of a new convert to Judaism?
Since the Rambam does not distinguish between these three cases, it would seem that the only distinction in Halacha is between the body of a Jew and that of a non-Jew. If so, a simple straight-forward reading of the Gemora's query is unacceptable. Is there another approach to understanding our sugya?
Thank you.
Dov Lew
1) The simple meaning of the Gemara is that this Halachah applies only to a Jew who observes the Torah and Mitzvos. However, my esteemed uncle, ha'Rav Wolf Rosengarten (Zurich), suggested that the Gemara can be explained based on the words of the Rambam in Hilchos Gitin, who says that even the most wayward apostate feels, deep down in his heart, the desire to do Mitzvos and to fulfill Hash-m's will. In that sense, his inner self indeed has "anxiety for Mitzvos."
2) It seems that it is not possible to have a case of a non-Jew whom is known never to have eaten creeping and crawling creatures. The Gemara is talking about a girl at least three years of age (who is Re'uyah l'Bi'ah), and no one can say for sure that she never ate such creatures in her life, since it is not possible to lock her up in a cage without such creatures.
3) It seems that in this case, the Halachah would certainly apply, because a convert is not only very eager for the Mitzvos, but she has also eaten creeping and crawling creatures. Thus, her body is definitely considered warmer.
All the best,
-Mordecai Kornfeld