What does Judaism Consider Taboo in Sexual Encounters?
Sexual taboos in Judaism ⬇
👰🏽♀️🤵🏽 Premarital Sex: Given that marriage is kiddushin, meaning holy in Hebrew, Jewish law is generally understood to disapprove of premarital sex. Yet there are nuances between types of observance: the Orthodox movement strictly prohibits it; the Conservative movement maintains this stance, yet both it and the Reform movement acknowledge “‘a measure of morality’ can be found in non-marital sexual relationships provided they comport with Jewish sexual values, including mutual respect, honesty, health and monogamy.”
👶🚫 Birth control: it’s not banned, but anything that blocks the passage of the seed is a NO (meaning condoms). However, “the pill is well-recognized as an acceptable form of birth control under Jewish law.” This is rooted in the belief that God’s purpose for marriage is procreation. Thus, strictly observant Jews consider contraception unnatural.
👬🏽 Homosexuality: Traditionally viewed as prohibited per Leviticus and unnatural given it “does not fulfill God’s request to be fruitful and multiply.” Many Liberal and Ancient rabbis prohibited homosexuality in order to distinguish Jewish practices from those of Greeks and Romans, for whom homosexuality was common practice.
💦 Masturbation: generally frowned upon for males, female masturbation is viewed as less problematic because it doesn’t result in “spilling seed.”
“The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is forbidden to spill seed needlessly, calling it a sin more severe than any other in the Torah and tantamount to murder.
— My Jewish Learning, Judaism and Sex: Questions and Answers
🩸 The Torah states that a Niddah, a menstruating woman, cannot have sex with a man until her ‘seventh clean day’ (a week after the last day of her period.)
Sources: @bbc, What Does Judaism Say about Sexual Relationships? Human Sexuality and Relationships (2021); Jewish Virtual Library, Issues in Jewish Ethics: “Kosher” Sex (2021); @myjewishlearningcom, Judaism and Sex: Questions and Answers (2021)
