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'''Forbidden relationships in Judaism''' (Hebrew עריות Arayot, or איסורי ביאה Isurey bi'ah) are those intimate relationships which are forbidden per the various prohibitions in the [[Torah]], as interpreted by [[Rabbinic Judaism]], or by [[Karaite Judaism]], together with a number of other subsequent injunctions. Engaging in some forbidden relationships is considered such a serious sin in Jewish law that that one should be willing to die, rather than commit them<ref name = "mitzvot324">{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=324.}}</ref>; the Talmud argues that most other [[mitzvah|biblical commandment]]s are [[self-sacrifice in Jewish law|not so important that one need commit self-sacrifice]], in order to obey them<ref>''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]]'', 74a</ref>
'''Forbidden relationships in Judaism''' (Hebrew עריות Arayot, or איסורי ביאה Isurey bi'ah) are those intimate relationships which are forbidden per the various prohibitions in the [[Torah]] and subsequent [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinical]] injunctions. Engaging in some forbidden relationships is considered such a serious sin in Jewish law that unlike most other [[aveira|negative commandments]], in which one is allowed to transgress the commandment when a life is on the line, engaging in a forbidden relationship is forbidden, even when the alternative is death.<ref name = "mitzvot324">{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=324.}}</ref>


== Animals ==
== With married women ==


* [[Adultery]] is forbidden (Lev. 18:20).
[[Bestiality]] is prohibited by the [[Covenant Code]] of the [[Book of Exodus]]<ref name="Ex2219">{{bibleverse||Exodus|22:19|}}</ref>, and by the [[Holiness Code]] of [[Leviticus]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|18:23|}}</ref><ref name="Lev2015">{{bibleverse||Leviticus|20:15|}}</ref><ref name="Lev2016">{{bibleverse||Leviticus|20:16|}}</ref>; the prohibition occurs in two distinct parts of the latter, both of which emphasise that bestiality is prohibited both for men<ref name="Lev2015" /> and for women<ref name="Lev2016" />.
* A man is not allowed to have sexual relations with his wife - or any other woman - during the time of her [[niddah|menstrual period]] (Lev. 18:19), until after she undergoes the proper cleansing procedures in a [[mikveh]].

The Covenant Code sets the [[death penalty]] as the punishment for the crime<ref name="Ex2219" />. The second time the Holiness Code forbids bestiality, it goes further than the Covenant Code, insisting that not just the human perpetrators, but also the animal participants, should be killed if bestiality is committed<ref name="Lev2015" /><ref name="Lev2016" />; according to the Talmud, the purpose of also killing the animals involved was to obliterate all physical memory of the crime<ref>{{ISBE|article=crimes}}</ref>.


== Exogamy ==
== Exogamy ==
{{main|Interfaith marriage in Judaism}}
{{main|Interfaith marriage in Judaism}}


The Biblical position on [[exogamy|exogamous marriage]] is somewhat unspecified, except in relation to intermarriage with a [[Canaanite]], which the majority of the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Israelite patriarchs]] are depicted as criticising<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|24:2-4|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis||26:34-35|}}</ref>. This attitude is formalised in the [[Deuteronomic Code]], which forbids intermarriage with Canaanites<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|7:3|}}</ref>. Marriage with other nationalities is forbidden by the Talmudic sages<ref>Kiddushin 68b</ref>. Two special classes of people in Israelite society - [[Nethinim]] and [[Gibeonites]] - were regarded as ''foreigners'' in relation to this rule, and hence the Talmud forbids marriage to them.<ref>[[Yadayim]] 4:4</ref>.
[[Exogamy|Exogamous marriage]] is forbidden in Judaism. In relation to intermarriage with a [[Canaanite]] the prohibition is biblical,<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|24:2-4|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis||26:34-35|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|7:3|}}</ref>, while marriage with other nationalities is forbidden by the Talmudic sages.<ref>Kiddushin 68b</ref> Two special classes of people in Israelite society - [[Nethinim]] and [[Gibeonites]] - were regarded as ''foreigners'' in relation to this rule, and hence the Talmud forbids marriage to them.<ref>[[Yadayim]] 4:4</ref>

However, intermarriage to non-Canaanites clearly occurs on several occasions in the [[Torah]], and early parts of the [[Deuteronomic history]], without direct criticism; for example, [[King David]] is described as marrying the daughter of the king of [[Geshur]]<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|3:3|}}</ref>, and [[Bathsheba]] as having married [[Uriah the Hittite]]<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|11:3|}}</ref>. The Talmud accounts for this, on the basis that marriage between a Jew and a convert to Judaism was not regarded as intermarriage<ref>Berakhot 28a</ref><ref>Kiddushin 5:4 (Tosefta)</ref>. Hence, all the Biblical passages which appear to support intermarriages, such as that of [[Joseph]] to [[Asenath]], and that of [[Ruth]], were regarded by the classical rabbis as having occurred only after the foreign spouse had converted to Judaism<ref>Genesis Rabbah, 65</ref>.

The situation is slightly complicated by the fact that the Talmudic writers viewed [[Christianity]] as being at the ''gate'' of Judaism<ref>[[Isaac ben Sheshet]], ''Responsa'', No. 119</ref>, and hence marriages between Christians and Jews were not seen by them as prohibited<ref name="JewEncInter">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=Intermarriage|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=I&artid=163}}</ref>. Nevertheless, in 1236 [[Moses of Coucy]] tried to break up such marriages<ref>Moses of Coucy, ''Sefer Mitzvot ha-Gadol'', 112</ref>


==Incest==
==Incest==
{{main|Jewish views of incest|Incest}}
{{main|Jewish views of incest|Incest}}


As with most religions, [[Jewish views of incest|incest]] is forbidden by Jewish religious law. However, the exact definition of incest does not necessarily correspond to the laws which western nations have against incest; in particular, they are not based on degree of relation. The [[Book of Leviticus]] outlines the categories of kinship which constitute "incest" according to Jewish religious law. As literally stated in Leviticus, they are:
As with most religions, [[Jewish views of incest|incest]] is forbidden by Jewish religious law. However, the exact definition of incest does not necessarily correspond to the laws which western nations have against incest; in particular, they are not based on degree of relation. The [[Book of Leviticus]] outlines the categories of kinship which constitute "incest" according to Jewish religious law. As literally stated in Leviticus, they are:
* One's [[mother]] (Lev. 18:7)
* One's [[mother]] (Lev. 18:7)
* One's [[father]] (Lev. 18:7)
* One's [[father]] (Lev. 18:7)
* One's [[stepmother]] (Lev. 18:8)
* One's [[stepmother]] (Lev. 18:8)
* One's paternal or maternal [[sister]] (Lev. 18:9)
* One's paternal or maternal [[sister]] (Lev. 18:9)
* One's paternal sister through one's father's wife (Lev. 18:11)
* One's paternal sister through one's father's wife (Lev. 18:11)
* One's [[daughter]] (inferred from Lev. 18:10)
* One's [[daughter]] (inferred from Lev. 18:10)
* One's [[granddaughter]] (Lev. 18:10)
* One's [[granddaughter]] (Lev. 18:10)
* [[Stepdaughter|A woman and her daughter]] (Lev. 18:17)
* [[stepdaughter|A woman and her daughter]] (Lev. 18:17)
* A woman and her [[granddaughter]] (Lev. 18:17)
* A woman and her [[granddaughter]] (Lev. 18:17)
* One's [[aunt]] by blood (Lev. 18:13)
* One's [[aunt]] by blood (Lev. 18:12-13)
* One's [[uncle|father's brother]] (Lev. 18:14)
* One's [[uncle|father's brother]] (Lev. 18:14)
* One's [[aunt|father's brother's wife]] (Lev. 18:14)
* One's [[aunt|father's brother's wife]] (Lev. 18:14)
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=== Rabbinically prohibited relationships ===
=== Rabbinically prohibited relationships ===
⚫
In addition to the relationships biblically prohibited to Jews, rabbis have gone further to prohibit certain additional relationships with various blood relatives and in-laws. These are called "Shni'ot" (secondary prohibitions). Some of these are:<ref name="mitzvot324"/>

⚫
In addition to the relationships biblically prohibited to Jews, rabbis have gone further to prohibit certain additional relationships with various blood relatives and in-laws.<ref name="mitzvot324"/>. These additional relationships were termed ''seconds'' (Hebrew: ''sheniyyot''), and included:
* One's [[grandmother]]
* One's [[grandmother]]
* One's [[great-grandmother]]
* One's [[great-grandmother]]
Line 47: Line 41:
== Exclusions from the assembly ==
== Exclusions from the assembly ==


The Bible prohibits men from taking part in the ''[[qahal]] of [[Hashem]]'' if they are members of certain categories of people. Jewish tradition considers this to be solely a limitation on marriage.
The Bible prohibits men from taking part in the ''[[qahal]] of [[Hashem]]'' if they are members of certain categories of people. Jewish tradition considers this to be solely a limitation on marriage.


=== Groups ===
=== Groups ===
Line 60: Line 54:
{{main|Mamzer}}
{{main|Mamzer}}


The Talmud forbids marriage to a ''[[mamzer]]''.<ref>Yebamot, 4:13</ref> This includes children resulting from an incestuous marriage, and children resulting from [[adultery]],<ref name="JELaws" /> but does not include the children of two unmarried people, who are not related to each other.<ref name="JELaws" /> A convert may marry a mamzer, but the children are still mamzerim.<ref>[[Maimonidies]], [[Mishneh Torah]], Sanctity, Laws of Sexual Prohibitions, 15:7-8</ref>
The Talmud forbids marriage to a ''[[mamzer]]''.<ref>Yebamot, 4:13</ref> This includes children resulting from an incestuous marriage, and children resulting from [[adultery]],<ref name="JELaws" /> but does not include the children of two unmarried people, who are not related to each other.<ref name="JELaws" /> A convert may marry a mamzer, but the children are still mamzerim.<ref>[[Maimonidies]], [[Mishneh Torah]], Sanctity, Laws of Sexual Prohibitions, 15:7-8</ref>


=== Spadones ===
=== Spadones ===
Line 66: Line 60:


== Special rules for priests ==
== Special rules for priests ==
According to the bible, [[kohen|Israelite priests]] are not allowed to marry:
[[kohen|Israelite priests (kohanim)]] are not allowed to marry:

* divorcees<ref name="JELaws" />
* divorcees<ref name="JELaws" />
* [[Conversion to Judaism|converts]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|21:17|}} (in the [[King James Version]], it is verse 14 instead)</ref>
* a [[zonah]] (Lev. 21:7)
* a woman who was born of the prohibited relations of a kohen (called a [[chalalah]]) (Lev. 21:7)
* a woman who has had a forbidden sexual relationships (as with a married man or a Canaanite); such a woman is called a [[zonah]] in the Torah) (Lev. 21:7)
* a woman who was born of the prohibited relations of a [[kohen]] (called a [[chalalah]]) (Lev. 21:7)

⚫
The [[Kohen Gadol]] must also not marry a [[widow]] (Lev. 21:14). Sexual relations with a widow outside of marriage are also forbidden (Lev. 21:15). He is required to marry a virgin maiden (Lev. 21:13), and may not marry [[Conversion to Judaism|converts]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|21:17|}} (in the [[King James Version]], it is verse 14 instead)</ref>. However, if he was married to such woman prior to becoming high priest, he may remain married to her.

The Talmudic writers also forbade marriage between a priest and:
* [[The Bible and slavery|women captured during warfare]]<ref>[[Ketubot (Talmud)|Ketubot]] 22a</ref><ref>Ketubot 27a</ref>
* [[The Bible and slavery|women captured during warfare]]<ref>[[Ketubot (Talmud)|Ketubot]] 22a</ref><ref>Ketubot 27a</ref>
* a widow who's brother-in-law refused to perform a [[levirate marriage]] and she consequently performs the [[Halitzah]] ceremony.<ref>Yebamot 24a</ref>
* a widow who's brother-in-law refused to perform a [[levirate marriage]] and she consequently performs the [[Halitzah]] ceremony.<ref>Yebamot 24a</ref>
* a woman who has had a forbidden sexual relationships (like with a married man or a Canaanite)


Some of these prohibitions are biblical, and some are rabbinical.
Although the first century destruction of the [[temple in Jerusalem]] resulted in the priesthood being redundant, the Torah frequently portrays the Israelite priesthood as an hereditary position, and so the rabbis of the middle ages regarded these regulations as applying, still, to all men who claim to be descended from such priests; such claims can often be detected in modern surnames resembling the Hebrew word ''kohen'', the term used in most parts of the [[masoretic text]] to mean ''priest'' (the [[cognate]]s in related languages, however, mean ''[[soothsayer]]''<ref>{{EncyclopaediaBiblica|article=Priest|section=Praetorium-Prophet_(False)}}</ref>).


⚫
The [[Kohen Gadol]] (high priest) must also not marry a [[widow]] (Lev. 21:14). Sexual relations with a widow outside of marriage are also forbidden (Lev. 21:15). He is required to marry a virgin maiden (Lev. 21:13). However, if he was married to a woman otherwise permitted to a kohen and was then elevated to the high priesthood, he may remain married to her.
== With married women ==

According to the [[Holiness Code]], and the [[Deuteronomic Code]], [[Adultery]] is forbidden<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|18:20|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|20:10|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:22|}}</ref>. In the [[Priestly Code]] of the [[Book of Numbers]], it is required that a pregnant<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible'' ad loc</ref> woman suspected of adultery be subjected to the [[Ordeal of the bitter water|Ordeal of Bitter Water]], a form of [[trial by ordeal]], if her husband had become fiercely ''jealous'' about the pregnancy (literally ''has the storm-wind of jealousy''), and there are not enough witnesses able to confirm the woman's guilt or innocence<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|5:11-31|}}</ref>.

Sexual intercourse with a [[menstruation|menstruating]] woman is often regarded with disgust<ref name="PaulMenses">Paula Weideger, ''Menstruation and menopause : the physiology and psychology, the myth and the reality'', (1975), pages 126-127</ref>; the Torah is no different, as the Holiness Code twice prohibits it<ref>{{Bibleverse||Leviticus|18:19|}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleverse||Leviticus|20:18|}}</ref>. Israelite society is not the only culture with a formal prohibition against intercourse during menstruation; the [[Dogon people|Dogon]], for example, also strictly forbid it<ref>Beverly Strassmann, ''Predictors of fecundability and conception waits among the Dogon of Mali'' in ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'' (1996), volume 105, pages 167-184</ref>.


== Homosexuality ==
== Homosexuality ==
{{Main|LGBT topics and Judaism}}
{{Main|LGBT topics and Judaism}}


⚫
===Orthodox===
The Holiness Code of [[Leviticus]] forbids certain activity involving two men together<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|18:22|}}</ref>.


⚫
Orthodox Judaism intepretates Leviticus 18:22 as forbiding men from lying with other men in the manner in which they would with a woman. Leviticus 18:14 specifically prohibits such relationships with one's father or uncle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=327.}}</ref>
⚫
===Orthodox===


⚫
There are three reasons rabbis give for homosexuality being prohibited in Jewish law:<ref>{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=325}}</ref>
⚫
Orthodox Judaism inteprets this regulation as forbiding men from lying with other men in the manner in which they would with a woman. Leviticus 18:14 specifically prohibits such relationships with one's father or uncle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=327.}}</ref>

⚫
There are three reasons Orthodox rabbis give for homosexuality being prohibited in Jewish law:<ref>{{Harvnb|Eisenberg|2005|p=325}}</ref>
# It is a defiance of gender anatomy, which is unlike God's intention of procreation and sexual activity
# It is a defiance of gender anatomy, which is unlike God's intention of procreation and sexual activity
# The [[sexual arousal]] involved results in a vain emission of [[semen]]
# The [[sexual arousal]] involved results in a vain emission of [[semen]]
# It may lead a man to abandon his family
# It may lead a man to abandon his family

⚫
There is no explicit prohibition in the Torah against [[lesbianism]]; however Jewish law prohibits it, under the category of "the activities of (ancient) Egypt (see Lev. 18:3)".<ref>Rabbi Joseph Karo, Shulchan Aruch, III:20:2</ref> However, it is not considered [[adultery]], and does not prohibit the woman to a kohen.<ref>Beit Sh'muel, ad. loc. based on [[Maimonidies]]</ref>


===Reform===
===Reform===


Reform Judaisim interprets the regulation as forbidding men from using sex as a form of ownership over men. Reform Jewish authors have revisited the Leviticus text and ask why the text mentions that one should not lie with a man “as with a woman.” If it is to be assumed that the Torah does not waste words, the authors ask why the Torah includes this extra clause. Most Reform Jews suggest that since intercourse involved possession (one of the ways in which a man ‘acquired’ a wife was to have intercourse with her), similar to the Christian theology of using sex to 'consumate' a marriage, it was abhorrent that a man might acquire another man – it is not the act of homosexual intercourse itself which is abhorrent, but using this act to acquire another man and therefore confuse the gender boundary. <ref>http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/a-to-z-of-reform-judaism/contemporary-issues/homosexuality.html</ref>
Reform Judaisim interpretates Leviticus 18:22 as forbidding men from using sex as a form of ownership over men. Reform Jewish authors have revisited the Leviticus text and ask why the text mentions that one should not lie with a man “as with a woman.” If it is to be assumed that the Torah does not waste words, the authors ask why the Torah includes this extra clause. Most Reform Jews suggest that since intercourse involved possession (one of the ways in which a man ‘acquired’ a wife was to have intercourse with her), similar to the Christian theology of using sex to 'consumate' a marriage, it was abhorrent that a man might acquire another man – it is not the act of homosexual intercourse itself which is abhorrent, but using this act to acquire another man and therefore confuse the gender boundary. <ref>http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/a-to-z-of-reform-judaism/contemporary-issues/homosexuality.html</ref>


== Lesbianism ==
== Animals ==
Leviticus 18:23 specifically forbids both a man and a woman from engaging in [[bestiality]]. It is considered an [[abomination]] according to the Torah.<ref name="mitzvot324"/>

⚫
In Orthodox Judaism, [[lesbianism]] is prohibited, on the assumption that it falls under the category of "the activities of (ancient) Egypt (see Lev. 18:3)".<ref>Rabbi Joseph Karo, Shulchan Aruch, III:20:2</ref> However, it is not considered [[adultery]], and does not prohibit the woman to a kohen.<ref>Beit Sh'muel, ad. loc. based on [[Maimonidies]]</ref>


== Age ==
== Age ==
⚫
Rather than being seen as merely a literary device to quickly describe the populating of the earth, the biblical instruction to ''go forth and multiply''<ref>{{bibleverse||Genesis|1:28|}}</ref> was interpreted by the [[classical era|classical]] [[rabbi]]s to mean that it was the duty of every male Jew to marry as soon as possible<ref name="Maimonides212">[[Maimonides]], ''Minyan haMitzvot'', 212</ref>. Several [[Talmud]]ic rabbis urged that children should be married as soon as they had reached the average age of [[puberty]], which was deemed to occur at 14 years of age<ref name="San76b">''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]]'' 76b</ref>; however, it was also strictly forbidden, by [[classical rabbinical literature]], for parents to allow their children to marry before the children had reached this age<ref name="San76b" />. Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis<ref>''[[Yebamot]]'' 44a</ref><ref>''Sanhedrin'' 76a</ref>
{{main|Marriagable Age in Judaism}}


The classical rabbis saw 18 as the ideal age to become married<ref>''[[Pirkei Abot]]'' 5:24</ref>, and anyone unmarried after the age of twenty was said to have been cursed by God<ref>''[[Kiddushin]]'' 29b</ref>; [[beth din|rabbinical courts]] frequently tried to compel an individual to marry, if they had passed the age of twenty without marriage<ref name="JELaws">''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Marriage Laws''</ref>. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis viewed study of the [[Torah]] as a valid reason for remaining unmarried, although they were only rarely willing to regard life-long celibacy favourably<ref>''Yebamot'' 63b</ref>. Since the classical rabbis viewed marriage as a duty deriving from the instruction to ''go forth and multiply''<ref name="Maimonides212" />, they also believed that the duty to marry ended once the husband had fathered both a son and a daughter<ref name="Yeb61a">''Yebamot'' 61a</ref>; despite this, they also argued that no man should live without a wife even after he has several children<ref name="Yeb61a" />.
⚫
The average age of [[puberty]] was deemed to occur at 14 years of age<ref name="San76b">''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]]'' 76b</ref>; it was strictly forbidden, by [[classical rabbinical literature]], for parents to allow their boys to marry before reaching this age<ref name="San76b" />. Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis<ref>''[[Yebamot]]'' 44a</ref><ref>''Sanhedrin'' 76a</ref>


=== Ability to give consent ===
=== Ability to give consent ===
Children, however, were not regarded as old enough to make an informed decision, and so could not consent to marriage themselves<ref name="JELaws" />, although marriage to a female child was still permissable if her father consented, whether she agreed to it or not<ref name="JELaws" />; if the father was dead, such consent could be given by her mother, or her brothers, but in this latter case the girl could annul the marriage when she reached the "''standard''" age of puberty (12), if she wished<ref name="JELaws" />.


⚫
The [[mentally handicapped]], and [[deaf-mute]]s, were also regarded, by traditional Jewish law, as being unable to give their consent; indeed, marriage to such people was forbidden. However, the rabbis allowed deaf-mutes to marry each other.<ref name="JELaws" />
A girl younger than the age of majority could be compelled to marry against her will, although she also had the right to an subsequently annul the marriage. However, the Talmud did not allow the marriage to be annulled if it was the girl's first marriage, if it had been arranged by her father<ref>{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=Majority|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=91}}</ref>. If she exercised this right, it lead to a true annulment, not a divorce; a divorce document (''[[get (divorce document)|get]]'') was not necessary<ref>Yebamot 107a</ref>, and a girl who did this was not regarded by legal regulations as a divorcee, in relation to the marriage<ref name="Yeb108a">''Yebamot'' 108a</ref>.

⚫
The [[mentally handicapped]], and [[deaf-mute]]s, were also regarded, by traditional Jewish law, as being unable to give their consent; indeed, marriage to such people was completely forbidden. However, the rabbis allowed deaf-mutes to marry each other<ref name="JELaws" />.


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 11:18, 15 February 2010

Forbidden relationships in Judaism (Hebrew עריות Arayot, or איסורי ביאה Isurey bi'ah) are those intimate relationships which are forbidden per the various prohibitions in the Torah and subsequent rabbinical injunctions. Engaging in some forbidden relationships is considered such a serious sin in Jewish law that unlike most other negative commandments, in which one is allowed to transgress the commandment when a life is on the line, engaging in a forbidden relationship is forbidden, even when the alternative is death.[1]

With married women

  • Adultery is forbidden (Lev. 18:20).
  • A man is not allowed to have sexual relations with his wife - or any other woman - during the time of her menstrual period (Lev. 18:19), until after she undergoes the proper cleansing procedures in a mikveh.

Exogamy

Main article: Interfaith marriage in Judaism

Exogamous marriage is forbidden in Judaism. In relation to intermarriage with a Canaanite the prohibition is biblical,[2][3][4], while marriage with other nationalities is forbidden by the Talmudic sages.[5] Two special classes of people in Israelite society - Nethinim and Gibeonites - were regarded as foreigners in relation to this rule, and hence the Talmud forbids marriage to them.[6]

Incest

Main articles: Jewish views of incest and Incest

As with most religions, incest is forbidden by Jewish religious law. However, the exact definition of incest does not necessarily correspond to the laws which western nations have against incest; in particular, they are not based on degree of relation. The Book of Leviticus outlines the categories of kinship which constitute "incest" according to Jewish religious law. As literally stated in Leviticus, they are:

Rabbinically prohibited relationships

In addition to the relationships biblically prohibited to Jews, rabbis have gone further to prohibit certain additional relationships with various blood relatives and in-laws. These are called "Shni'ot" (secondary prohibitions). Some of these are:[1]

Exclusions from the assembly

The Bible prohibits men from taking part in the qahal of Hashem if they are members of certain categories of people. Jewish tradition considers this to be solely a limitation on marriage.

Groups

Jewish people are prohibited from marrying with the following groups:

  • Male Moabite and Ammonite converts (Deut. 23:4)
  • Egyptian converts up to the third generation (Deut. 23:8-9)
  • Edomite converts up to the third generation (Deut. 23:8-9)

As the people currently living in those areas may not be be descended from the original peoples, these three prohibitions do not apply today.[7]

Bastards

Main article: Mamzer

The Talmud forbids marriage to a mamzer.[8] This includes children resulting from an incestuous marriage, and children resulting from adultery,[9] but does not include the children of two unmarried people, who are not related to each other.[9] A convert may marry a mamzer, but the children are still mamzerim.[10]

Spadones

Jewish tradition also forbids marriage to a man who has been forcibly emasculated; the Greek term spadones, which is used to refer to such people, is used in the Septuagint to denote certain foreign political officials (resembling the meaning of eunuch).[9] The Jewish prohibition does not include men who were born without visible testicles (conditions including cryptorchidism), or without a visible penis (conditions including hermaphroditism).[9] There is dispute, even in traditional Judaism, about whether this prohibited group of men should include those who have become, at some point since their birth, emasculated as the result of a disease.[11]

Special rules for priests

Israelite priests (kohanim) are not allowed to marry:

Some of these prohibitions are biblical, and some are rabbinical.

The Kohen Gadol (high priest) must also not marry a widow (Lev. 21:14). Sexual relations with a widow outside of marriage are also forbidden (Lev. 21:15). He is required to marry a virgin maiden (Lev. 21:13). However, if he was married to a woman otherwise permitted to a kohen and was then elevated to the high priesthood, he may remain married to her.

Homosexuality

Main article: LGBT topics and Judaism

Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism intepretates Leviticus 18:22 as forbiding men from lying with other men in the manner in which they would with a woman. Leviticus 18:14 specifically prohibits such relationships with one's father or uncle.[16]

There are three reasons rabbis give for homosexuality being prohibited in Jewish law:[17]

  1. It is a defiance of gender anatomy, which is unlike God's intention of procreation and sexual activity
  2. The sexual arousal involved results in a vain emission of semen
  3. It may lead a man to abandon his family

There is no explicit prohibition in the Torah against lesbianism; however Jewish law prohibits it, under the category of "the activities of (ancient) Egypt (see Lev. 18:3)".[18] However, it is not considered adultery, and does not prohibit the woman to a kohen.[19]

Reform

Reform Judaisim interpretates Leviticus 18:22 as forbidding men from using sex as a form of ownership over men. Reform Jewish authors have revisited the Leviticus text and ask why the text mentions that one should not lie with a man “as with a woman.” If it is to be assumed that the Torah does not waste words, the authors ask why the Torah includes this extra clause. Most Reform Jews suggest that since intercourse involved possession (one of the ways in which a man ‘acquired’ a wife was to have intercourse with her), similar to the Christian theology of using sex to 'consumate' a marriage, it was abhorrent that a man might acquire another man – it is not the act of homosexual intercourse itself which is abhorrent, but using this act to acquire another man and therefore confuse the gender boundary. [20]

Animals

Leviticus 18:23 specifically forbids both a man and a woman from engaging in bestiality. It is considered an abomination according to the Torah.[1]

Age

Rather than being seen as merely a literary device to quickly describe the populating of the earth, the biblical instruction to go forth and multiply[21] was interpreted by the classical rabbis to mean that it was the duty of every male Jew to marry as soon as possible[22]. Several Talmudic rabbis urged that children should be married as soon as they had reached the average age of puberty, which was deemed to occur at 14 years of age[23]; however, it was also strictly forbidden, by classical rabbinical literature, for parents to allow their children to marry before the children had reached this age[23]. Despite the young threshold for marriage, marriages with a large age gap between the spouses (eg. between a young man and an old woman) were thoroughly opposed by the classical rabbis[24][25]

The classical rabbis saw 18 as the ideal age to become married[26], and anyone unmarried after the age of twenty was said to have been cursed by God[27]; rabbinical courts frequently tried to compel an individual to marry, if they had passed the age of twenty without marriage[9]. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis viewed study of the Torah as a valid reason for remaining unmarried, although they were only rarely willing to regard life-long celibacy favourably[28]. Since the classical rabbis viewed marriage as a duty deriving from the instruction to go forth and multiply[22], they also believed that the duty to marry ended once the husband had fathered both a son and a daughter[29]; despite this, they also argued that no man should live without a wife even after he has several children[29].

Ability to give consent

Children, however, were not regarded as old enough to make an informed decision, and so could not consent to marriage themselves[9], although marriage to a female child was still permissable if her father consented, whether she agreed to it or not[9]; if the father was dead, such consent could be given by her mother, or her brothers, but in this latter case the girl could annul the marriage when she reached the "standard" age of puberty (12), if she wished[9].

The mentally handicapped, and deaf-mutes, were also regarded, by traditional Jewish law, as being unable to give their consent; indeed, marriage to such people was forbidden. However, the rabbis allowed deaf-mutes to marry each other.[9]

References

  • Lamm, Maurice (2008), The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, Jonathan David
  • Eisenberg, Ronald (2005), The 613 mitzvot: a contemporary guide to the commandments of Judaism, Schreiber Publishing
  1. ^ a b c Eisenberg 2005, p. 324.
  2. ^ Genesis 24:2–4
  3. ^ Genesis
  4. ^ Deuteronomy 7:3
  5. ^ Kiddushin 68b
  6. ^ Yadayim 4:4
  7. ^ Rabbi Joseph Karo, Shulchan Aruch, III:4:10 and commentaries, Habahir edition, Leshem publishers
  8. ^ Yebamot, 4:13
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jewish Encyclopedia, Marriage Laws
  10. ^ Maimonidies, Mishneh Torah, Sanctity, Laws of Sexual Prohibitions, 15:7-8
  11. ^ Jacob ben Asher, Eben ha-'Ezer, 5
  12. ^ Leviticus 21:17 (in the King James Version, it is verse 14 instead)
  13. ^ Ketubot 22a
  14. ^ Ketubot 27a
  15. ^ Yebamot 24a
  16. ^ Eisenberg 2005, p. 327.
  17. ^ Eisenberg 2005, p. 325
  18. ^ Rabbi Joseph Karo, Shulchan Aruch, III:20:2
  19. ^ Beit Sh'muel, ad. loc. based on Maimonidies
  20. ^ http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/a-to-z-of-reform-judaism/contemporary-issues/homosexuality.html
  21. ^ Genesis 1:28
  22. ^ a b Maimonides, Minyan haMitzvot, 212
  23. ^ a b Sanhedrin 76b
  24. ^ Yebamot 44a
  25. ^ Sanhedrin 76a
  26. ^ Pirkei Abot 5:24
  27. ^ Kiddushin 29b
  28. ^ Yebamot 63b
  29. ^ a b Yebamot 61a
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