A Response to Distorted Talmudic Citations About Sex
Have you seen Talmudic passages about disturbing sexual cases used in antisemitic or anti-Orthodox attacks? I was asked to respond—here’s my answer.
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A Response to Distorted Talmudic Citations About Sex
Preface: Instead of my usual article on the parashah this week, I want to share an email exchange from last year about a troubling topic that resurfaces from time to time. I’ve changed names for anonymity and grawlixed words that would push this beyond a PG rating. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, the nature of the cases discussed, and the presence of antisemites online, I’ve placed the bulk of my response behind a paywall.
For those of you who are looking for something on or related to the parashah, here is a selection of articles you can read, print out, or listen to. Good Shabbos and good Chodesh!
Terumah: Badei ha’Aron (The Staves of the Ark): last year’s article
Vayakhel/Pikudei: Tedious by Design: not on Terumah, but on the genre of parashah that Terumah falls into, which happens to be the same topic
Parashas Masei: The Journey from Boring to Interesting: another article on “boring” parshiyos; no audio for this one
Ben Yishai’s initial question to me.
Dear Matt,
[My wife] asked me a question that I couldn’t begin to answer, and I wanted to suggest it to you as something to write or teach about. Some very nasty anti-Semites on the Internet are making hay from it.
Apparently, Rabbi Discipulus has tried to address it, but not satisfactorily. It’s about horrific rabbinic statements particularly in tractate Ketubot. I’m sure you know what I mean. There’s no need to say more, since who knows how secure electronic communication is. I think Rabbi Oryctolagus would have said the rabbis were conducting the equivalent of totally abstract and intellectual mathematical lab experiments, following and testing ideas against each other, all in the mind and in words, not discussing actual sexual practices. Not totally satisfying as a solution either. Just a thought for your consideration, as I am sure I’m far from alone in wondering about this, and it has consequences for our getting along peaceably with our non-Jewish fellow citizens, for the honor of Torah, and more.
Ben Yishai
My initial response to Ben Yishai.
Hi Ben Yishai,
I appreciate the question and spent some time thinking about it this morning. Here are three approaches that I think help address the issue:
The Need to Clarify Theoretical Law
The answer I'm going to give might sound similar to Rabbi Oryctolagus's, but I’m not convinced it’s exactly the same. You tell me. :)
Rabbi Oryctolagus is correct that the Talmud explores hypothetical cases—not just as an intellectual exercise, but as gedankenexperiments designed to clarify the law. For example, in Yevamos 54a, the Gemara states:
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