Rav Yosef Karo Uses the Zohar to Eliminate the Opposition

In this post we will finally tie our two separate threads together, the mystical Kabbalistic thread and the Halachic thread.  Rabbi Yosef Karo (RYK), the most influential Halachic authority since the days of Maimonides, was the author of two major halachic works.  The Beit Yosef is written as a commentary on the Arba'ah Turim which we discussed in the previous post, and it is an encyclopedic review of all of the halachic opinions on the topics covered by the Tur. Based on his Beit Yosef, RYK then wrote the Shulchan Arukh (SA), where he summarizes his conclusions of law.  This has become one of the most important works in the history of the Halacha.

The Beit Yosef provides us the insight we need into how RYK came to the conclusions that he records in the SA.  I promised you in a previous post that I would show you how RYK brought the Zohar and Lurianic kabbalah into the Halachic world regarding the topic of masturbation.  So now is the time to fulfill my promise. 

In the Beit Yosef, on his commentary to the Tur Even Ha'ezer 23:4 the Beit Yosef adds to the Tur:

It is written in the Zohar that the severity of the prohibition against ejaculation for naught is more than all the other sins in the Torah, therefore one must be extremely careful regarding (the avoidance of) this (sin).

If you recall our previous post, the Tur cites the lenient opinion of the Ri HaZaken as a dissenting opinion, as he permits spilling seed in the context of an appropriate relationship.  RYK's comments on this are fascinating and revolutionary.  in the Beit Yosef (siman 25) he says:

It is very difficult to allow someone to spill his seed even if it is only occasional, and one who is careful regarding (matters of) his soul will stay far away from this and from similar acts... 

Then in his later work, Bedek HaBayit (ch. 25), RYK cracks down even harder and states regarding the Ri HaZaken:

had the Ri HaZaken seen what is written in the Zohar regarding the punishment for someone who needlessly spills seed, that it is more severe than any other sin in the Torah, he never would have written what he wrote...

Essentially, RYK is saying that the Tosafists and Halachic authorities who were not exposed to the Zohar, as they lived prior to the revelation or publication of the Zohar. The ramifications of this statement are astonishing.  RYK is suggesting that a Halachist would make a different Halachic decision because of the Zohar.  Somehow it even suggests that the pre-Zohar Halachists weren't quite as informed on these topics as the "post-Zohar" Halachists and thus their opinions are less legitimate.

RYK then codifies this in the SA, and completely omits the opinion of the Ri Hazaken and any of the other lenient opinions that we have cited in our blog up to this point.  It is worth reviewing the SA in Even Ha'Ezer chapter 23 in its entirety.  I will leave it to the reader to read it, as quoting the entire chapter would be lengthy, but I do want to point out a few very important details.

1. We mentioned in the last post that the Tur changed the Rambam's word "however" (Aval) to "and" and how this suggested that the Tur understood the Rambam's prohibition against "Ni'uf BeYad U'beregel" to be a prohibition against masturbation.  This was in contradiction to the Rambam's own explanation of the term in Pirush HaMishnayot.  This also indicated that the Tur understood the Rambam's objection against using withdrawal as being a sin of "spilling seed', which was not how the Rambam was understood prior to the Tur.  RYK takes this a step further and completely removes the word "and" as well.  What this does in effect is completely change our understanding of the Rambam.  Now it reads as follows:
   
   "[One may not do withdrawal, one may not marry a woman incapable of conceiving] those who engage in such practices and spill seed in vain (elu Shmena'afim beyad etc....) not only are they committing a terrible sin...
   
   What the SA is doing is presenting the Rambam as if the reason for the prohibition against marrying someone incapable of conceiving and for withdrawing and ejaculating extravaginally is due to the prohibition of spilling seed.  This is totally the opposite of the way the Rambam was previously understood. The "and" of the tur made it into a list of three things, while dropping the "and" turns it into an explanation of why the acts are prohibited.
   
   
2. The SA injects into his quote from the Rambam the term he used in the Beit Yosef, which comes directly from the Zohar, that "This sin is more severe than any other sin in the Torah".
   
   
3. The SA, unlike the Tur, completely omits the opinion of the Ri HaZaken.  He doesn't even bring it as a "Yesh Omrim" (There are some who say)
   
   
4.  The SA, unlike the Tur, omits the Rambam's explicit quotation from the Gemara that permits a husband and wife to engage in whatever sexual activity they so desire, including anal intercourse (Biah Shelo Kedarkah)

There are more things to point out, but the items I just mentioned are enough to establish how RYK has now taken the Zohar and placed it directly into the realm of Halacha, and he has explicitly prohibited things that were permitted by the Talmud itself and the Rambam (and others as we have written about extensively in previous posts).

Lest you think that the SA only wrote these Halachot to sound scary, but he didn't really prohibit actions explicitly permitted in the Talmud and the Rambam, here is a story from the Sefer Chareidim (Rabbi Eliezer ben Moshe Azikri 1533-1600) that recounts an actual case brought before the Beit din (rabbinical court) of RYK:

There was a case in Safed, in the year 5308 (1547), that in the presence of the great rabbis Our teacher and Rabbi Rav Yosef Karo, and our teacher our rabbi R' Isaac Massoud, and our teacher our Rabbi Avraham Shalom and my teacher the Rabbi, the pious R' Yosef Shaggis, and several other rabbis, that a woman came and stated that her husband had intercourse with her "shelo kedarka" (anal intercourse) and they excommunicated him, and criticized him and said that he was (worthy of) being burned, and in the end (his verdict was that) they banished him from the land of Israel...(End of chapter on Hotz'at Zerah in Sefer Chareidim)

This is remarkable, and it demonstrates just how far RYK took the Zohar into the realm of practical  Halacha.  An act explicitly permitted by the Talmud and the Rambam, was prohibited to the extent that RYK banished this man from Israel.

There is so much more to write. We can discuss the Lurianic kabbalah and how it expanded further on the ideas of the Zohar.  We can discuss the Hassidic movement, and how it expanded on the ideas of the Lurianic Kabbalists.  We can discuss the Halachic literature and how it accepted the established Halacha as codified by the SA.  We can discuss the Mussar literature, and how it was affected by the Kabbalah.  However, I am going to skip all of that. The reason is because I have sufficiently demonstrated how this all came to be.  How the "sin" of spilling seed became established as a Halacha, despite not being mentioned in the Torah or even the Talmud.

Instead, I will in my next post discuss a little bit about the influences of the Christian world and the scientific world on the Jewish attitudes towards masturbation.  Then I will talk about some of the many "side effects" of this Halachic reconceptualization of the SA such as its influence on modern laws of birth control, fertility treatments etc...  Then I hope to discuss what the world of sexuality according to the Torah would look like if we had taken a different path and accepted the Talmud, Maimonides, the Ri Hazaken, and the Tosafot Rid etc... as the law of the land instead of the path taken by the Zohar and the SA.  I think some of my conclusions will be surprising, and certainly something to think about.

The Tur Interprets the Rambam

In this post, we will go back to Halachic world, and see how the conception of the prohibition against masturbation evolved as it became codified into law.

Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (RJBA) (1269-1343) also known as the "Ba'al HaTurim" was famous for being the author of the "Arba'ah Turim" or "The Four Pillars".  This work was hugely influential in the future development of Jewish law.  The format of this work became the blueprint for all major Halachic works until modern times.  One of the most important aspects of the Arba'ah Turim was that it served as a bridge that unified the two primary schools of Halachic scholarship that were beginning to grow further and further apart, the Ashkenezic and the Sephardic scholars.  RJBA was born in Cologne in Germany, but moved with his famous father, the "Rosh",  to Castile in Spain, so he drew his scholarship from both worlds.  He was famous for his reliance on Maimonides, but also how he describes the opinions of the Tosafists when there were disagreements.

A quick review of the development of the Halacha so far is important in order to understand the significance of this post.  We described how the Rambam understood the Talmudic objections to masturbation. The Rambam had basically three problems with masturbation. 

1. Sexual activity done in a certain manner in order to maintain a sexual relationship and thus avoid his obligation to procreate, even in the context of marriage.  This only applied to someone who hadn't yet fulfilled his obligation to procreate
2. Sexual activity that is done intentionally as a method of sexual gratification outside the context of of marriage, this was called "Ni'uf Beyad U'veregel" or "sex with hands or feet (or other limbs)" This, according to the Rambam, is problematic because it leads to and occurs in an environment of immorality and promiscuity, and a general lack of holiness.  
3. The third is that the Rambam, in line with the medical thinking of his day, generally felt that too much sexual activity had health risks. This would apply even to too much intercourse with one's own spouse, even in a completely permissible way.

What was not prohibited by the Rambam was sexual activity, done in the context of marriage, that results in ejaculation outside the vagina or otherwise cannot result in pregnancy.  Similarly, what was not prohibited by the Rambam, was masturbation by a single man in a way that would not result in promiscuity or immorality.  (This does not mean that the Rambam approved of this behavior, as he disapproved strongly of deliberately stimulating oneself sexually, and recommended early marriage and involvement in holier pursuits to keep one's mind away from thoughts that could lead to sin. It just means that there is no specific prohibition of "spilling seed").   

This was also clearly the opinion of the Tosafot Rid and the Ri Hazaken, and the general Halachic understanding even during the beginning days of the Chasidei Ashkenaz such as Rabbi Yehuda HaChassid. 

We also described how a new trend in Halacha began with Rabbeinu Tam's interpretation of Rashi to mean that any act of spilling seed that was not in "the normal way of intercourse" was a violation of the command to procreate. This was the first mention of a specific prohibition of "spilling seed".  We pointed out how the Chasidei Ashkenaz emphasized the holiness of avoiding arousing oneself and masturbation in general.  We saw how Rabbeinu Yonah then stated that the act of spilling seed as described by RT incurred the death penalty, and finally, how the Semak then codified it as a halacha.

Now let's turn to RJBA, whom I shall refer to as "the Tur" (short for his work Arba'ah Turim").  The Tur, in his usual style, brings direct quotes from the Rambam in order to present the Rambam's opinions on a halachic matter, and then he brings the dissenting opinions from both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic scholars.  He also often writes his own conclusions after discussing the Rambam's opinions and others. When it comes to our topic, the way that the Tur presents the Rambam is very different from the way we analyzed the Rambam in our previous posts.

Shilo Pachter, in his doctoral dissertation that I have quoted earlier in this series of posts, describes how through numerous subtle changes, omissions, and changes of context, the Tur presents the Rambam in a completely different light. I don't mean to suggest that the Tur deliberately changed the Rambam, rather, the Tur was writing after about two hundred years of influence of a sea change in Halacha with regard to the attitude towards masturbation.  Therefore he understood the Rambam very differently than we did.

I am only going to mention some of the points that Pachter makes, but hopefully enough to show what effect these subtle changes in the Tur's presentation of the Rambam had on the subsequent development of Halacha.

1. The Tur places these Halachot in the laws of Pru U'rvu (procreation).  This immediately gives the impression that the laws of "spilling seed" are meant to address married couples as well as single men.  This differs from the Rambam's placement of these laws in the Sefer Kedushah together with other proscriptions designed to help prevent immorality and promiscuity
   
   
2. The Tur, when quoting this Rambam, makes a subtle but very important word switch.
   
   "It is prohibited to ejaculate semen for naught, therefore a person should not have intercourse and then withdraw to ejaculate, one should also not marry a woman too young to give birth to a child. However, those who have sexual relations with their hands and thus ejaculate (outside of a woman's body) not only are they committing a prohibited act, but one who does should be isolated (from the community) and regarding such people it is said (Isaiah 1:15) "Their hands are stained with blood" and it is as if he is guilty of murder.  (Rambam, Laws of Forbidden Relations 21:18)"
   
   The word "Aval" which I translated as "however", is changed by the Tur to a simple "vav" meaning "and".  Although this seems like a small change, it is actually extremely significant.  Until now, we have understood the Rambam as discussing two different categories, separated by the word "however".  The first two cases, withdrawal and marrying a woman incapable of pregnancy were issues because a person was not fulfilling the Mitzvah of P'ru U'rvu. However,  "Ni'f Beyad U'veregel" ("sexual relations with hands or feet") was a problem that was prohibited because it would lead to promiscuity.  (Recall that the Rambam explained in his Pirush Mishnayot that Ni'uf Beyad refers to sexual contact with others that does not involve vaginal intercourse.)  By changing "however" to "and" the Tur is suggesting that Ni'uf beyad U'veregel is actually referring to masturbation and applies to married couple as well as singles.  The Tur does not mention the Rambam in Pirush Mishnayot at all.
   
   
3. The Tur does not quote the Rambam who permitted marrying a woman incapable of conceiving for someone who has already fulfilled P'ru U'rvu. This was one of the primary lines of evidence with which the Rambam made clear his understanding of what the prohibition of Hotza'at Zera was all about. That a sexual relationship with a spouse, done in such a way as to avoid fulfilling his obligation to procreate, is what the Talmud was condemning, as it is indicative of a marriage for the purpose of sexual pleasure alone.  The Tur completely leaves out this Halacha of the Rambam.
    
4.  The Tur quotes the Rambam with the new additional phrase that was not included in the original manuscripts of the Rambam.  This phrase was appended at the end of the Halacha where the Rambam explicitly permits all sorts of sexual activity with one's spouse.  The phrase reads: "as long as one does not spill seed in vain".  We discussed this phrase before, but according to the original manuscripts, the primary purpose of that entire statement of the Rambam was in order to permit sexual activities with one's spouse that do not result in pregnancy, including anal intercourse, and other practices.  Inserting that phrase completely turns the Rambam upside down. 
   
   
5. The Tur prohibits even a married person from touching his penis, thus prohibiting what the Talmud and the Rambam explicitly permit.  All of this was because of his fear that even a married person might commit this sin.  

The sum total of all of this (and many more subtle changes that Pachter records)  is that the Tur presents the Rambam as if he held like Rabbeinu Tam.  That spilling seed is prohibited even for a married couple, and that there is a specific prohibition against spilling seed that has a Torah origin, like Rabbeinu Yonah.

The Tur however, was aware that the Ri HaZaken expressly permitted extra-vaginal ejaculation for married couples.  So he brings the Ri HaZaken as a dissenting opinion.  The end result of the Tur's presentation is that we have the force of the Rambam presented as if it stands in opposition to a lone dissenting opinion of the Ri Hazaken.  The Tur therefore is deciding in favor of the Rambam, essentially squelching all future debate on this issue.

While the Ri Hazaken in our original analysis was simply following the prevalent and generally understood approach to this topic in the Talmud and the Rambam, suddenly the Tur has turned him into an outlying lenient opinion without too many legs to stand on.

As we shall see in a moment, the Beit Yosef is going to take it a step further and use the Kabballah to eliminate the opinion of the Ri HaZaken completely, and establish the Tur's rendition of the Rambam as the law of the land..

The Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah

The influence of the Zohar on the future attitude of Jewish religious thinking regarding masturbation would be impossible to overstate.  I struggled for a while trying to decide how to present this material in a blog post, as the Zohar devotes an immense amount of attention to this subject.  I decided to give brief summaries of the basic concepts found in the Zohar, and I quoted the sources for those who want to do more research on their own.  To translate and quote each idea would make this a very long post indeed.

The Zohar's teachings on the subject of spilling seed is to be understood as a direct result of how the Zohar understands procreation in general.  Most importantly, it is based on the way the Kabbalists explained the origins of semen, and the process of bringing a new soul from the spiritual world into the physical world. I recommend that you review my summary of the Sefer HaBahir in the last post.  Everything else flows from there.  

No Seed is ever a "Waste"

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the approach of the Zohar is the Zohar's rejection of the idea that masturbation is prohibited because of "wasting seed". The Zohar attaches such an intense importance to the act of procreation, that it would be impossible to assume that when one ejaculates that nothing important is going on. since the seed is endowed with a soul, it can't be that it is just being wasted.  Instead, the Zohar introduces an entirely different concept. When one ejaculates in the context of normal vaginal intercourse with his spouse, the soul that his seed is endowed with is holy, and implants in his wife to develop into a holy child.  However, the Zohar teaches, that when one masturbates, or has any other sort of prohibited sexual intercourse, the "soul" endowed in his semen is an evil spirit.  Although these evil spirits may not be visible to the naked eye, they indeed are created and they accompany this person throughout his life and indeed even after his death.   This has many important ramifications that we shall discuss.

The Evil Spirits Haunt Their "Creator" 

The Zohar describes in several places the punishments in store for one who ejaculates in any context other than "normal" intercourse with his spouse (see Zohar 2:263b for example)  These evil angels have become his tormentors, and they will haunt him forever. So the act of ejaculation always creates a spiritual being, it just depends on the individual if that will be a holy being or an evil one.  

Note how different this is from the term Rashi used in the "Rashi on the Rif" that we quoted earlier.  There he wrote that "wasting seed" that could have potentially been a child is destructive because it is "wasted." This sounds like a potential human being has been lost, but nothing else was created in its' stead.  However, the Zohar is more concerned about the actual evil creations that the spilled seed is responsible for creating.

Masturbation Becomes One of the Arayot

Another result of the Zohar's conception of ejaculation, is the reclassification of masturbation in the category of one of the forbidden sexual relationships.  The Zohar spiritualizes the act of illicitly ejaculating semen that is not in the context of "normal" procreative intercourse with a spouse.  Since all such acts create evil spirits and demons, they are all similar sins.  For example, in Zohar 2:264a it is lumped together with bestiality, forbidden relationships, and more.

No Path for Repentance

In several locations, the Zohar makes an extraordinary and frightening claim, and unlike all other sins, masturbation is unique in that the perpetrator is denied the ability to repent.  This conclusion follows from the Zohar's understanding of this act.  Since each "seed" is a potential holy child, when has has the wrong intentions and spills the seed, that child is therefore "killed" and in its' stead an evil angel is born.  How could there ever be penance for such an act? In the Zohar 1:219b it is explicitly stated that for this sin alone, there is no repentance available.  Indeed, the violator is even worse than one who murders another person, for which there may be repentance available.  As he is killing his own children!  The Zohar uses this identical language in Zohar 2:3b to describe an abortion, indicated that the Zohar equated the two.  Interestingly, this is the only reference in the entire Zohar to abortions.  (See my previous posts regarding the comparison between "wasting seed" and abortions.)

If this idea sounds remarkable to you, let me emphasize that the Zohar asserts this claim in several places, including at length in Zohar 1:61b-62a.  However, in Zohar 2:214b, the Zohar seems to state that repentance is possible, though there the reference is to the sin of "Pegam HaBrit" (which we first saw introduced by Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla) which includes sexual sins other than masturbation as well.  Regardless, the fact remains that in several places the Zohar stated unequivocally that Teshuva - repentance is impossible.

Hotza'at Zera Becomes More Inclusive

Just as the idea of Pegam HaBrit found its' way into the Zohar, so did the idea expressed in the Igeret haKodesh that Hotza'at Zera Le'Vatalah could refer to any type of intercourse that isn't proper, even if it is normal vaginal intercourse. (see Zohar 3:90a).  If the intentions aren't proper, or the relationship is inappropriate, evil spirits are created instead of a child, and one is guilty of spilling seed.

Creating Holy Angels 

This idea of the Zohar does explain one conundrum that was a problem when we explained Rabbeinu Tam earlier on.  If "wasting seed" is a problem because a potential child is being "destroyed, then how can any intercourse be permitted when a child cannot result?  How could one have sexual relations with one's spouse if she is pregnant or postmenopausal for example? If you recall, Rabbeinu Tam explained this by differentiating between "normal intercourse" and "not normal intercourse", but this still left us wondering why that would be. 

However, the Zohar has a convenient explanation for this.  Just as when one "spills seed" he creates spiritual demons that he cannot see, so to when one has appropriate "normal" intercourse with one's spouse, they create holy angels that cannot be seen.  So any intercourse that is appropriate is never a "waste".  (See Zohar 3:167b - 168a).

There are many other ideas expressed by the Zohar on this topic, but I think we should move on to the next major step in the history of the influence of Kabbalah on the laws of spilling seed.  That step is the established of the next great Kabbalistic movement, that of Lurianic Kabbalah in Safed.  

The Mystics of Safed and the Canonization of the Zohar

Tragically, not long after the publication of the Zohar, the Jewish world was crushed by the horrific tragedy of the Spanish inquisition and the expulsion from Spain. Of the Spanish Jewish refugees, some eventually made their way to Safed in the Galilee region of Israel. Along with the refugees also went the wisdom of the Spanish kabbalists, especially the book of the Zohar. In Safed the school that became known as the Lurianic school was to become the dominant force in Jewish mysticism until the Hassidic movement in Eastern Europe in the 18th century.  Among the key figures in this school were none other than Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz (1500-1576, the author of the famous Lecha Dodi sung in synagogues on Friday night),  Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (1522-1570, the teacher of Rabbi Isaac Luria and considered the founder of the Lurianic school), Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572, also known as the Arizal, perhaps the most famous of the Safed Kabbalists and after whom the Lurianic school was named), and  Rabbi Chaim Vital (1542-1620, the Arizal's most important disciple, and the one who recorded in writing the teachings of the Safed school).

It is not necessary for us to delve deeply at this time into the philosophy and teachings of the Lurianic school.  Regarding the issue of masturbation specifically the Lurianic school continued to develop the same basic themes that we mentioned in our discussion of the Zohar.  However, what the Lurianic school did accomplish was that the Zohar became established in the Jewish canon of standard rabbinic texts. The scholars of Safed were responsible for making the Zohar accepted almost universally in the rabbinic world as a work with origins as ancient as the Mishna and Talmud, rather than a product of medieval Spain.

Among all of the famous scholars of this period in Safed, the most important figure for the purposes of our investigation, is Rabbi Yosef Karo (RYK) (1488-1575), the author of the Beit Yosef and Shulchan Arukh. These Halachic works, perhaps with the exception of Maimonides Mishnah Torah, had more influence on the development of Halacha than any other work in Jewish history.  Rabbi Yosef Karo was also a Kabbalist of note, and absorbed the Lurianic system of Kabballah directly from its' masters in Safed.  

RYK brought the Zohar to bear directly on his Halachic treatment of the topic of spilling seed.  However, before we see how, we will need to leave the Kabbalistic universe and go back to the parallel Halachic universe that we left behind a few posts ago.  We have to follow the Halacha through the Rosh, the Tur and then we will see how the Beit Yosef took the Halachic world of the Tur, and the Kabbalistic world of the Zohar and brought them together. 

 

The Spanish Kabbalists, the Science of Semen, Pegam HaBrit and more Concepts are Born

While the Halachic world was evolving its definition of "Hashchatat Zera" and eventually  codifying it as law, the parrallel world of Kabballah was coming into its own as a major force in Jewish religious life.  We have already discussed the Chasidei Ashkenaz in France and Germany who were an important influence in the early "pre-Zohar" development of Jewish mysticism or Kabbalah. However, as great as the influence of the Chasidei Ashkenaz was, it is nothing compared to the influence of the Spanish Kabbalistic masters. This movement reached its apex with the publication of the Zohar by Rabbi Moshe de Leon in the late 13th century.  It would be impossible to overstate the sea change in Judaism that the Zohar was going to cause.

The subject of the true author and origins of the Zohar is not one I plan on dealing with here.  For our purposes, it is simply important to note that it was publicized in the late 13th century. For more on this subject, Rabbi Natan Slifkin has a few citations here that might help you begin to research the topic.  Today's post will be devoted to pre-Zohar Kabbalistic writings.  These were mostly works that began to appear in the 12th and 13th century Spain and were the milieu within which the Zohar appeared at the end of the 13th century.  The famous Kabbalistic scholars of this time in Spain that I will mention (or already have mentioned) in this blog include:

1. Rabbi Isaac the Blind (1160-1235) while he was a Rabbi in Provence, Southern France, he was very much in the Spanish "camp" being the son of the famous Ra'avad (yes, the same ra'avad who wrote the glosses on Maimonides' Mishna Torah), and Provence was close to Spain, geographically, culturally, and religiously
2. Rabbi Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona (mid-12^th century to 1245?) Student of Rabbi Isaac the Blind, possible author for many Kabbalistic texts of the period that are unattributed.
3. Rabbi Joseph ben Avraham Gikatilla (1248-1305?) (author of Sefer Ginat Egoz and others)
4. Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270), also known as Nachmanides, or the "Ramban" who was clearly the most famous of all of the Spanish kabbalists. He was probably the most important scholar that legitimized the study of Kabballah and brought it into the mainstream.  He flourished during the years immediately prior to the publication of the Zohar.  There is no evidence that he ever saw the Zohar, though there are certainly parallels between his writings and the Zohar.  While various traditions and stories abound about his possible involvement with the Zohar, there is no way to prove any of them correct.
5. Rabbi Joseph of Shushan (1260's? - 1340's?) who was a Castilian Kabbalist who almost certainly did not come from Shushan (in Persia) at all, and generally assumed to be one of the scholars involved in writing of or editing of the Zohar along with Rabbi Moshe de Leon
6. Rabbi Moshe de Leon (RMDL) (1240-1305) Most famous as the one who publicized the Zohar.  Many scholars attribute the authorship of the Zohar to him, and to the group of kabbalists who gathered around him. However, it was presented by RMDL as an ancient work written in the Tannaitic period by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.  

I am going to reference several Kabbalistic works of this period which have significant bearing on this subject.

Sefer HaBahir

This work is traditionally attributed to Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakaneh, a venerable sage from the Mishnaic period in the first century, hence it is also known as the Midrash Rabbi Nehunya ben Hakaneh. The Ramban accepted this identification of authorship of the Sefer Habahir. However, it first appeared in public in the Provence school of Kabbalists (remember how I told you before that the Provence school and the Spanish schools were closely related) sometime late in the 12 ^th century.  Some scholars have attributed its’ authorship to Rabbi Isaac the Blind, while others claim that it is based on pieces of earlier Kabbalistic works that go back at least to the time of the Geonim.

The Sefer Habahir does not discuss masturbation. However, it is nonetheless extremely important to understanding how the Kabbalah deals with the issue of ejaculation, insemination, and procreation.  The Sefer HaBahir, as you shall see, lays the foundation upon which almost all of “Zoharic” and “Lurianic” Kabbalah is built when it comes to the issue of the “male seed”.

In Kabbalistic thought, the acts of human beings reflect the spiritual realms above, and the most important manifestation of this is in the act of creation of a human being. When a man has intercourse with his wife, he is engaged in an act of creation.  While the soul comes from above, his acts are what brings that soul from God into this world.  The man is the giver, and the woman is the acceptor.  

The Sefer haBahir (In Piska 46, Abrams edition 1994) describes the semen as a product of the entire human body. This directly reflects the contemporaneous medical understandings of the origins of the sperm. His entire body produces seed, which is then coalesced in the brain, and then after it is all gathered into a seed and the soul is attached to the seed through his holy thoughts and intentions, it travels through the spinal cord, into the penis, and then into the receptacle, which is the woman’s vagina.  This is kabbalistic science of reproduction 101.

If he has holy and proper thoughts, than when the seed coalesces in his brain, it will be given a new holy soul by God, and that soul will be implanted into the woman to grow.  If he does not have holy thoughts that soul may be a reincarnation of someone who needs punishment, or an evil soul or something else.

This concept is very important to understand, as it is going to seriously affect how the “spilling of seed” is going to be dealt with in all subsequent Kabbalistic literature.  It is also fascinating how what as essentially a secular concept of understanding became a mystical concept with such power and influence over the Halacha.  The ideas expressed above have their origins in Hippocrates, Aristotle, Plato, Democritus, Galen, and other medieval scholars/philosophers/physicians who followed in their footsteps.

Iggeret HaKodesh

The Iggeret Hakodesh (IH) was an extremely important document that almost certainly arose sometime during this period in Spain, probably sometime during the 12 ^th century.  Its authorship has been variously attributed to the Ramban, Rabbi Joseph ben Avraham Gikatilla, Rabbi Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona, and others.  This letter was heavily influenced by the Kabbalistic beliefs about sexual relationships, and had a significant impact for many centuries to come.

Partly as a consequence of the understanding of sex that we described above from the Sefer HaBahir, the holiness of the sex act is obvious.  The author of the IH did not appreciate the austere and scientific attitude of the philosophers like Maimonides who felt that the act of sex was somehow a base and lowly act that may even have negative health impacts.  For a kabbalist, the act of intimate relations between husband and wife was purely holy and special, and should be treated as such.

However, as the seed coalesced in the brain, and was endowed with the soul from God Himself, it was considered crucial that only proper thoughts of holiness and love were present.  If one’s mind was full of bad thoughts and intentions, or if the relationship was improper, bad things would result.  The IH then makes a claim which doesn’t fit well with the Talmud, but fits very well with this understanding of the IH.

… (after explaining the holiness of a proper sexual act and the resulting seed with a holy soul) ... But when a person does not have proper heavenly intentions, that seed which is drawn from him is a putrid drop, and it is called destroying seed upon the land (as stated by the generation of the flood), and the entire resulting seed is for naught and it plants an asheira (an idol-tree) … because it is a deficient seed … and God has no part of this … (IH, in Kitvei HaRamban, Chavel edition page 326

This really changes the concept of “wasting seed’ as it understands that even in normal intercourse, with the wrong intentions, it would be considered “wasting seed” as well.  But more importantly, we can really start to understand why the later kabbalists were so against wasting seed.  If this seed was truly a product of the entire body endowed with a soul by God, it makes sense that they would consider “destroying” the seed to be a grave sin.  Furthermore, although most scholars don’t believe that the Ramban was the author of the IH, it is not surprising that both the IH and the Ramban understood that the was the sin of the generation of the flood.   If any improper sexual behavior is in the category of “wasting seed”, then when the Torah says that the generation of the flood was “hishchitu darkam” (corrupt ways) that this was in the Ramban’s Kabbalistic mind the same as saying that they wasted seed.

Furthermore, when the IH mentions the “putrid drop” he is clearly referring to the Mishna in Avot as follows:

Akavyah ben Mahalalel said: mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: Know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop … (Avot 3:1)

While this is a not specifically a halachic statement, it certainly does not sound like Akavyah ben Mahalalel had this lofty view of the holiness of semen like the Kabbalists were describing.  In order to answer this seeming contradiction, the IH tells us that it depends on your thoughts. If your thoughts are holy, the seed is holy, if your thoughts are impure, then it is a “putrid drop”  

Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla (RJG) and “Pegam HaBrit”

While RJG does not speak directly about the specific prohibition of “wasting seed”, he is the origin of another Kabbalistic concept which had much influence on the later Kabbalistic ideas regarding this subject.

In his work Sha’arei orah 24a-b, he introduces the Kabbalistic concept that eventually became called “Pogem Be’brit” or defiling the covenant.  This is the idea that when one commits a sexual sin, he is defiling the covenant which is represented by his circumcision. This idea had huge influence on later Chassidic thought, especially in that of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. RJG applies this idea even to improperly touching oneself when urinating and more.

Rabbi Moshe de Leon (RMDL) and Rabbi Joseph of Shushan (RJS)

Both RJS and RMDL were involved in the group of Kabbalists from whom the Zohar emerged.  Obviously it was RMDL who ultimately brought the Zohar to the attention of the general public. In their own personal writings, both of them addressed the topic of wasting seed and RMDL devoted quite an extensive amount of writing to the subject. The take home message from their writings is that the topic of wasting seed in their writings went from being a side note regarding proper sexual behavior to being a full blown major subject whose importance and severity expanded into areas completely unimaginable in the corpus of Jewish literature in previous times.  RJS for examples lumped bestiality and masturbation in the same category of corruption, while RMDL devoted chapters of thought on all of the terrible consequences of the sin. 

Ultimately though, it was the book that these scholars revealed to the world that was going to change everything, the Zohar. We will deal with this in the upcoming post.

The Transition to one of the Ten Commandments - Rabbeinu Yona of Gerondi, the Semak, and more

The influence of the Chasidei Ashkenaz was not limited to French and German Jewry.  Their Sephardic brethren to the South were in close contact, and students would travel in both directions from Spain to France and Germany to study under the great masters of each of these schools.  The most famous, and arguably the most important Spanish scholar to attend a yeshiva among the Tosafists in France was Rabbi Jonah ben Abraham of Gerona (1200-1263), also known as "Rabbeinu Yonah" (RY).  RY, became a bridge between the more mystical, and less "rationalistic" thinkers of the Tosafists, and the more "rationalistic" and worldly Spanish scholars.  This impact was going to be profound and extremely important in understanding how Halacha in general developed over time. This impact was obviously much broader than just on the issue of masturbation, but we can almost use this topic as a case study for the development of Halacha in general.

In his early life as a young yeshiva student, the young RY was a member of one of the greatest rabbinic families in the history of Jewish Spain. His first cousin was none other than Nachmanides, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, also known as "the Ramban", perhaps the greatest Spanish Rabbi of all time (Nachmanides' mother was the sister of Rabbi Abraham - Rabbi Jonah's father).  The young Jonah went to study in France at the Yeshiva of Evreux in Normandy, France.  The leaders of the yeshiva in Evreux were the two brothers Rabbi Samuel ben Shneur and Rabbi Moses ben Shneur of Evreux.  Both were well known Tosafists, and both were heavily influenced by the dominant social and religious force in Ashkenazic Jewry at the time, the movement of the Chasidei Ashkenaz.  It was here that Rabbeinu Yonah absorbed the spirit of the "Ashkenazim".  He later went south, closer to his native Spain, and studied under another Tosafist, Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier, also known as "Rabbi Shlomo min Ha'har " (Rabbi Solomon "from the mountain"). The geography is very important here, because Montpellier is in southern France, much closer to Spain than Evreux, and was a point of frequent contact between the Tosafists and their Spanish brethren.  

The clash over the works of Maimonides is of course the most famous result, and one of the most catastrophic events in the history of Jewish scholarship in the middle ages.  RY's life and legacy is almost defined by this event.  Imbued with the mystical and more literalistic teachings of the Tosafists, it is not hard to understand how Rabbeinu Yonah initially reacted to the much more rationalistic and philosophical ideas of Maimonides.  This dispute spilled into the public arena, and tragically led to the involvement of the French Catholic authorities.  The French Church was quite happy to join in the condemnation of the philosophical works of Maimonides, considered to be the greatest Jewish scholar of the middle ages, perhaps the greatest of all time.  Largely due to the instigation of RY, the French authorities publicly burned the works of Maimonides in Paris in 1233.

The Jewish public was horrified by this defilement of one of the greatest Jewish leaders of all time.  Their anger was directed against RY for instigating this horrific desecration.  To his credit, RY took responsibility for the desecration, and he stood up publicly in front of the Synagogue in Montpellier and expressed remorse over his terrible mistake.  He spent the rest of his life studying and teaching the works of Maimonides and devoted himself to teaching repentance and fighting for social justice. He promised to travel to Israel to the grave of Maimonides to beg his forgiveness, but unfortunately died along the way.

Although he did not make it to Maimonides' grave, he did leave behind a great legacy for us all.  He taught us that even after doing a terrible deed, one can devote himself to good.  He left behind perhaps the most famous work in the Jewish literature on the subject of repentance, "Sha'arei Teshuvah", "the Gates of Repentance". His teachings on social justice have had a lasting impact.

In his work, Sha'arei Teshuva, he lists the sins for which one incurs the penalty of "Mitah Ba'Yedey Shamayim" or "death by heavenly decree" (MBS).  RY divides MBS into two categories, those sins that incur MBS which are listed as such by Chazal, and those which are not listed by Chazal but can be derived from other sources.  Among the sins which he derives from other sources, he lists masturbation as follows:

.... One who has sexual relations with a child, and one who has sex with his hand or foot (presumably by sexual contact with another but not actual intercourse), and our rabbis of Blessed memory stated that his punishment is like the punishment of the generation of the flood because they ruined their normal way (and had sex with children and sexual encounters with others by using their hands etc..) and similarly someone who does the actions of Er and Onan, where they withdraw and ejaculate in order to destroy the seed incurs the death penalty, as it states, "and it was bad in the eyes of God that which he did (Onan) and he killed him as well" and this refers also to those that emit semen for naught ...(Sha'arei Teshuva 3:112)

It is important to note that RY has divided this sin into two categories, the first is referring to sexual abuse of children, and promiscuous sex with others that involves ejaculation through using "hands and feet" or any sort of sexual activity other than vaginal intercourse.  This was how he understood the sin of the words "Hishchitu Darkam" or they "ruined their normal way" of the generation of the flood.  The second category was the emission of semen for naught, in which he included withdrawal prior to ejaculation, and anyone who "spills seed".  In the Sefer Hayirah, RY makes it clear that he understands that there is a separate sin of spilling seed even in the context of an appropriate relationship:

...(when one is having relations with his wife) he should not intend to do the act just for his pleasure (but rather with the intent of fulfilling the mitzvah) and he should be as cautious as he possibly can be not to emit his semen for naught... (Sefer hayirah p50)

We can derive several innovations from RY, which further advanced the prohibition of "spilling seed" in these very significant ways:

1. RY has now officially declared that there is a separate sin of "spilling seed" that is not related to the immorality issue or the issue of not fulfilling the mitzvah of procreation. In this he follows that lead of Rabbeinu Tam (RT), but takes it further than RT, as in the following item #2
2. Unlike RT who assumed that the sin of spilling seed was related to the mitzvah of procreation, RY now has stated that it has its' origins in the sin of Er and Onan.
3. Now that spilling seed is related to Er and Onan, he incurs the punishment of MBS, the heavenly death penalty.  RY is the first to directly relate the death penalty to spilling seed.
4. RY therefore also concludes that this sin of spilling seed applies even in a normal marital relationship

It is truly astonishing how an activity that was completely permitted by the Rambam, Tosafot Rid, Ri Hazaken, has now been declared an actual Torah prohibition with the death penalty.

The final step in the evolution of the prohition was to use the term first found in Rashi, "Hashchata" and to translate the two places in Genesis where this term is used as a reference to the sin of spilling seed. Those two places are:

When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth (Genesis 6:12)

But Onan, knowing that the seed would not count as his, wasted to the ground whenever he joined with his brother’s wife, so as not to provide offspring for his brother. (Genesis 38:9)

Until now the term Hashchata when used in reference to the flood, was understood to mean a general immorality or "corruption".  The term as used in the story of Onan, clearly referred to the withdrawal method, and the problem was understood as a rejection of the purpose of a relationship, to procreate. Onan had made it into a purely sexual relationship, and he refused to have children with her.  However, now the term "Hashchata" means "spilling seed".  

The logical next step is to assume that even the generation of the flood was killed because of masturbation.  RY's first cousin, Nachmanides (Ramban) does exactly that in his commentary to the Talmudic passage in Yevamot, where Rabbeinu Tam first raised the idea that "spilling seed" in and of itself was a sin.  Ramban disagrees with RT's assertion that the source of the sin is from the mitzvah of procreation, from which he derived that only men are prohibited from destroying seed and not women. Rather, Ramban says that the prohibition derives from the generation of the flood, which included the entire generation, men and women.

The first strictly Halachic work that finally codified this new understanding was the "Sefer Mitzvot Katan, known as the "Semak" by R' Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (d.1280). He writes:

One may not destroy seed, as it says "One may not commit adultery - one should not give pleasure to the nose, like those who emit seed with their hands and feet, and regarding this the Rabbis taught, One may not commit adultery - this is a warning to someone who helps others commit adultery. and when one destroys seed, he is (violating) something for which he incurs the death penalty, as it says (by Onan) and God killed him as well... (Sefer Mitzvot Katan, Lo Ta'aseh 292)

The Semak is the final step in the process that begun with Rashi using the term "hashchata", destroying seed.  The main points we learn from the Semak's few words are as follows:

1. The sin referred to in the Gemara Nidah of Hotza'at Zera Le'Vatalah is synonymous with Hashchatat Zera - "destroying seed"
2. The origin is in two Rabbinic interpretations of one of the ten commandments, "Lo Tinaf" Thou shalt not commit adultery
3. Spilling seed and the death penalty has now been codified in a halachic work.

I cannot complete this post without commenting on the two sources that the Semak used to relate wasting seed to the commandment of adultery go without comment.

His first was from Pesikta Rabbati 24.  The Pesikta there presents a play on the words "Lo Tinaf" and derives from there the lesson, "Lo Teheneh L'af” which I translated as "don’t give pleasure to the nose". I know this sounds strange to those not familiar with rabbinic exegesis. What they meant to say was that "the nose" is a reference to God's anger.  The context of the Pesikta there to learn a lesson from the commandment not to do things that will make God angry.  Based on the context, it would mean not to engage in things which may not exactly be adultery but can lead to an atmosphere that would make God upset, presumably because it could lead to adultery occurring.  The Semak is deriving from here that wasting seed is a sin.

The second was from the Talmud Shevuot 47b.  Here again the Talmud was using classic Rabbinic exegesis to derive a lesson: 

Shimon ben Tarfon said, There is a warning (in the Torah) against one being an accomplice to an adulterer, as its states, Lo Tonaf (which can also be read as) Lo Tannif (one should not help others commit these sins) 

Neither of these quotes say anything about spilling or wasting seed, neither are even Halachic statements, and both are simply warning against being involved in creating a promiscuous and immoral environment.  But after the Semak, they have become new source texts in the Torah itself. Now masturbation has made it into the ten commandments!

We have thus seen how spilling seed has entered the world of the Halacha. In our next post, I will take a break from the Halachic process, and look a bit at how the mystical world of the Kabbalah influenced the development, and also take a look at the Christian influence, and the influence of the world of secular medical knowledge as well.  We will eventually get back to the Halachic process and trace the sin as it gets pushed forward into the major codifiers, the Tur, Shulchan Arukh, and beyond..

Tides of change - Piety, Mysticism, and Foreign Influences

Now we have seen how a few words in Rashi introduced a new concept of "destroying seed".  However, some Tosafists did not allow these new words to change what they understood was accepted Halacha, while Rabbeinu Tam took this new concept and made it into a new Halachic principle. However, it takes much more than that to create an entirely new structure of Halachic law regarding a topic this complicated and important.  So now we are going to track how this happened.

We should begin with the "Chassidei Ashkenaz “or the "German Pietists". The Chasidei Ashkenaz were part of an ascetic movement that was prominent in Germany during the 12th and 13th century.  The movement was concurrent with the time of the Tosafists, and many of the leaders of the Tosafists were both Talmudic/Halachic scholars and also involved in this movement.  

While this is clearly not the place for a complete history of the Chasidei Ashkenaz movement, we should mention a little bit about their beliefs and way of life. They were an ascetic movement, believing in living a life of holiness, and many of their practices were dedicated to this ideal. In many cases, the ideals they lived by were not Halachic requirements, though they were meant to elevate the spiritual level of the individual and the community. They were heavily influenced as well by early Kabbalah, even prior to the publication of the Zohar.  One quite common theme in their writings and lifestyle was the prescription of and practice of various forms of penitence.  Frequent fasting, deprivation of various pleasures, immersing in icy waters, and similar practices, are common prescriptions for those who felt they had not lived up to their ideals.

In general, the line between Halachic requirements and holy spiritual practices was understood, but the lines were often blurred.  It was in this milieu that the issue of masturbation and "spilling seed" began to cross the line between being a holy practice to being a Halachic sin.  Remember, that this was exactly the time period when Rabbeinu Tam and the other Tosafists were engaged in their disagreement over their interpretation of Rashi.

The most important source of information we have regarding the practices and beliefs of the Chasidei Ashkenaz is the book Sefer Hachasidim, by Rabbi Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150-1217) also known as Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid.  From an interesting exchange between a concerned lay member of the Chasidei ashkenaz community and Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid, we can learn a lot about the subject of our concern. It confirms what we have written already that it was well understood that there was no specific prohibition against "spilling seed" during this time period, but it was considered a holy practice and that it was looked down upon by the community:

"It happened that someone asked (the writer) a question: Someone whose desires gets the better of him and he is afraid that he may (succumb to his urges) and sin by having sexual relations with a married woman or with his wife when she is menstruating or any other sexually prohibited woman, is it allowed for him to masturbate in order (to quell his urges so that he) does not sin? He (the writer) answered that he may at that time (when his urges are strong) masturbate, so that he can do the act of removing semen and therefore not sin with the (prohibited) woman. but he does require penance either by immersing in icy water during the wintertime, or to fast for 40 days during the summer (Sefer Hasidim, Wistinetsky edition s. 50, p44)"

We learn from his words several important points:

1.     We see that clearly there is no sin of "destroying seed" It is important to note that he does not use the term that Rashi used "hashchatah" from which Rabbeinu Tam inferred that the destruction of the seed itself is a prohibition.  Rather he used the term of the Talmud, "Hotza'ah" which means the act of emitting the seed.  Clearly, if that were a sin in and of itself, he could never have permitted it just because someone had an overwhelming urge. Obviously, the dominant Halachic view was that of the Rambam, Tosafot Rid, Ri Hazaken etc..., who all held that there was no such thing as a prohibition against "wasting" or "destroying" semen.

2.     It is also interesting that the practice of abstaining from masturbation was considered by the population to be something to strive for, in the pursuit of holiness.  This would be consistent with the ideals of the Chasidei Ashkenaz movement, and certainly has a basis in the Talmud and Rambam and more.

3.     The penitence prescribed is typical of this movement, and obviously is not something that gained general acceptance in mainstream Judaism.

The big question, which we cannot infer directly from the words of Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid, is how far does this permission to masturbate extend?  One can certainly argue that if one is overwhelmed with desire that is very bothersome to him, maybe even causing him significant distress, that masturbating might be permitted as well.  However, since Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid only says this when confronted with the alternative of a very grave sin such as actual adultery or forbidden sexual liaisons, I cannot legitimately draw this inference from his words.

Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid’s main disciple was another major figure in the Chasidei Ashkenaz movement.  Rabbi Elazar ben Yehuda of Worms (1176-1238), also known as the "Ba'al HaRokeach" after his primary work, the Sefer HaRokeach.  He discusses the practice of masturbation many times, and not surprisingly he strongly disapproves of the practice.  Most of his writings on the topic concentrate on how to do penance when one has engaged in masturbation.  However, it is clear from his writings that he did not consider a Halachic prohibition, but rather a bad practice that leads one in the direction of sexual immorality.  He viewed it of utmost importance to avoid sexual thoughts in order to live a holy lifestyle. 

In the following passage, it is clear that he understood the avoidance of the "spilling of seed" to be a holy and important practice, but not a Halachic law. He is discussing the penance advised for someone who has violated the sin of forbidden sexual intercourse.  In his usual way, he divides the penance into several categories.  One of the categories is "Teshuvat HaGeder" which are boundaries that the penitent should place upon himself in order to avoid stumbling again.  These are listed, by definition, as things which technically are not prohibited by the Halacha but should be enacted as safeguards to help a person who has sinned sexually prevent himself from falling into the trap again.

"For Repentance with safeguards (for one who has sinned sexually and desires to repent): He should safeguard himself by not looking at women or their jewelry whether or not they are wearing them, and he should not observe places where women are playing or gathering, and he should not listen to songs (that make one aroused) and he should not smell their perfumes ... (skipping here some similar ideas) ... and he should not lie down, even with his wife when she is pure (not menstruating) in the gardens or the fields, and he should not (engage in) intercourse whence he withdraws and ejaculates externally, and he should have no business with women at all and he should not engage in frivolity (in general)."

From his words it is clear that he lumps sexual activities with one's spouse where one does not ejaculate vaginally together with practices with which there is certainly no Halachic prohibitions at all!  Even lying with one's own wife, when she is not a niddah, in a field is prohibited in the same sentence.  Clearly there is no Halachic authority in the universe that would claim that there is some prohibition against having a picnic with one's own wife and lying next to her!  Obviously, this is typical though of the practices advocated by the Chasidei Ashkenaz.  On the same level, the Rokeach is recommending avoiding this sexual practice even though it is not technically a prohibition at all.

I have seen online quoted in the name of the Rokeach, Rabbi Elazar ben Yehuda of Worms, that in his commentary on the Torah, Genesis 2:25, that he even more explicitly states that any sexual activity in a relationship between husband and wife is Halachically permissible.  I have not been able to find this in print, but would appreciate it if someone could send me the quote.  Assuming he indeed does say this, it would further verify what we have just stated.

However, while the Chasidei Ashkenaz did not cross the line by taking their ascetic practices and turning them into law, their tremendous opposition to the practice of masturbation did have lasting effects very soon after. Due largely to their influence, "destroying seed" was about to become a Halachic prohibition. That is where we will pick up in our next post.

Rabbeinu Tam's Innovations

In our last post, we have established a new idea, introduced by the words of Rashi, that the sin of masturbation is one of “wasting seed” that could have been used to produce a child.  Rashi’s grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, as quoted in Tosfot Ketubot 39a then asks the following question:

"This does not seem (correct) to Rabbeinu Tam, as a young woman or an aylonit (women incapable of conceiving) one is allowed to have intercourse with them and it is not considered wasting seed, as long as it is done in the normal way of intercourse."

He continues:

"Prior to intercourse, one is certainly not allowed to use a Mokh (a contraceptive sponge of some sort) as it is not in the normal way of intercourse, and it would be (similar to) spilling semen on wood or stones, just the same as upon a Mokh, but after intercourse it would be permitted, as it is in the normal way of intercourse, similar to having intercourse with a young woman or an aylonit. And the woman who places the mokh inside after intercourse is not prohibited from destroying seed, since she is not obligated in the commandment to procreate…"

Rabbeinu Tam has now introduced several completely new concepts.

1. Once the idea of “destroying seed” was established by Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam was forced by his understanding of Rashi’s words to answer a new contradiction.  How is it that one is allowed to have sexual relations with a woman who cannot conceive?  (Recall, that according to the Rambam, and all who preceded him, this is not a problem at all, because they never heard of this prohibition of “wasting seed”, as we extensively explained in our previous posts) So Rabbeinu Tam came up with a new concept to explain this contradiction.  That any ejaculation that occurs “in the normal way of intercourse” is considered OK even if it can’t result in pregnancy.  However, any ejaculation that cannot result in pregnancy that does not occur in the “normal way of intercourse” would be prohibited.
2. Rabbeinu Tam introduces the concept that there is a prohibition of wasting seed, and he traces its origin to the mitzvah of procreation.  Somehow, the mitzvah to procreate also entails a prohibition to “destroy seed”
3. Since the prohibition is related to the mitzvah of procreation, Rabbeinu Tam therefore can differentiate between men and women.  A man cannot “destroy seed” while a woman can.

Let us analyze these ideas of Rabbeinu Tam a little further, because they have pretty much become the basis of so much Halachah in the realm of reproductive Halachic discussions for the next 800 years or so.

The Normal way of Intercourse

This new concept, as you can easily imagine, opens up a gigantic can of worms. Let me remind you of how easy Halachic life was in the pre-Rabbeinu Tam days.  As we saw in the Rambam, as long as you don’t ignore your obligation to procreate, and as long as you are in an appropriate sexual relationship, there are no more regulations regarding “spilling seed".  I quoted this before, and I will quote it again:

 "A person’s spouse is permitted to him, therefore any (sexual) activity that he desires to engage in with her, he may engage in it. He may have sexual relations with her at any time he desires, and he may kiss her on any part of her body that he desires, he may have sex with her in the normal way (vaginal) or not in the normal way (anal), he may have sex by using the (normal) limbs of the body or even not the (normal) limbs (Rambam, Mishna Torah, Laws of Forbidden Relations 21:9)"

However, now we suddenly have something new. If one engages in any form of extra-vaginal sex and ejaculates during sexual activities with his wife, he has now violated this new law.  In fact, this even governs what contraceptive devices he can use.  While according to pre-Rabbeinu Tam poskim, the use of barrier contraception was considered fine in cases where pregnancy was unhealthy for the woman, suddenly the use of barrier contraception is now prohibited during intercourse.  The Halachic ramifications of this idea are immense.  This law went from one that encourages procreation and sexual morality, to one that regulates what type of sex is OK between a husband and wife.  It is nothing short of astounding. 

Wasting Seed = Violating Mitzvah of Procreation

This idea is just about as revolutionary as the first.  In all other Halachic discussion in pre-Rabbeinu Tam days, it was well understood that engaging in sexual activities that are designed to avoid fulfilling the commandment to procreate were discouraged, and compared even to murder.  However, it was also understood that as long as one does not ignore his obligation to populate the Earth, sexual activities in appropriate relationships were perfectly fine.  That is because no one ever heard of this prohibition of “wasting seed”.  But now, Rabbeinu Tam tells us that the Torah’s command to procreate includes a prohibition of wasting seed.  Exactly how one derives this from the verses in the Torah is unclear, but this is what he says.  Now this “prohibition is elevated to a “D’Oraytah” a prohibition with an origin in the Torah.

Men Only

The third logical outcome of Rabbeinu Tam’s opinion, is that this prohibition of wasting seed only applies to men, who are commanded to procreate, and not to women who are not considered obligated to procreate.  (The origins of this differentiation between the genders is beyond the scope of this blog post). If that is the case, we left with a strange dichotomy between the two individuals involved in this heterosexual encounter between a woman and her spouse.  She is not prohibited from any act, even “wasting” his seed, but he cannot do anything other than sex that concludes with intra-vaginal ejaculation.

The Other Ba'alei Tosafot Take on Rabbeinu Tam

One of the primary problems with Rabbeinu Tam's approach, is that it raises so many contradictions and difficulties with other passages in the Talmud.  After all, when the Rambam permitted anal intercourse and all sorts of sexual practices (in an appropriate relationship) including using all parts of the body for pleasure, he was quoting the Talmud itself! So how do we understand this?

These questions were of course raised by several Ba'alei Tosafot who followed after Rabbeinu Tam (Talmudists, mostly from France and Germany, during the period starting from around the time of Rabbeinu Tam himself in the mid-12th century for approximately the next 200 hundred years until the early 14th century.  These Talmudists all contributed to the "tosafot" which are composed as additions to the back and forth arguments in the text of the Talmud itself).  The two most famous to deal with this issue are Rabbi Issac ben Samuel of Dampierre, France (1115-1184) also known as the "Ri Hazaken" and Rabbi Isaiah di Trani of Venice Italy (1180-1250) also known as the "Tosafot Rid".

Both of these Ba'alei Tosafot had a problem.  They at first understood the words of Rashi the same way that Rabbeinu Tam did, which is that there is an inherent problem with "wasting seed".  However, they needed to reconcile this with the fact that in so many instances, the Talmud explicitly allows ejaculation when pregnancy is not going to result.  Bottom line, they could not accept Rabbeinu Tam's interpretation.  What they did essentially, was explain Rashi the way I did in the last post.  That wasting semen is only an issue when one does it regularly in an attempt to avoid fulfilling the mitzvah of procreation. However, when it is done in the usual course of normal permissible sexual activity, there is no prohibition against "wasting seed". In their words:

... Furthermore, Rabbi Isaac (R' Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre) says, it is not considered an act of Er and Onan unless a person intends to waste seed and does so consistently (which one might do if his intention was that his spouse should not conceive and thus him not fulfill his obligation to procreate) However if as a random matter of course, when a person may desire to engage in atypical intercourse with his wife in a different way (e.g. anal intercourse) it would then be permitted, as the Talmud teaches (Nedarim 20b) Whatever a man desires to do (sexually) together with his wife he may do ... (Tosafot Yevamot 34b) 

Here, Rabbi Isaac is explicitly permitting masturbation and other sexual practices and sees no problem with "spilling seed" unless it is done on a regular basis with the intent of not fulfilling one's obligations of procreation.   As long as it is done in the context of an acceptable sexual relationship and it is not habitual. Rabbi Isaiah di Trani says it more clearly (discussing the Talmudic ruling allowing one to prevent pregnancy by the withdrawal method - ejaculating externally - in cases where pregnancy can be harmful to the woman):

"...and if you ask, how could it be that the Rabbis permitted to ejaculate semen and do exactly the actions of Er and Onan (as described in the bible they did the "withdrawal method").  The answer: What are the actions of Er and Onan that the Torah prohibited? Anyone whose intention is that his wife does not get pregnant in order that her beauty not be diminished, and he does not desire to fulfill his obligation to procreate with her. But if his intent is that she should not be brought into (a situation of) danger it is permitted. and so to if his intention is (simply to) fulfill the desires of his heart and his intention is not to prevent pregnancy it is also permitted ... someone whose intent is to fulfill his sexual desires is not transgressing (the sin of Onan) because whatever a person wants to do (together with) his wife he may do, and it is not considered "destroying seed" for (if it was considered destroying seed) one could never have sexual intercourse with a younger woman or an aylonit, or an infertile woman" (Tosfat Rid, Yevamot 12a) 

Here Rabbi Isaiah di Trani again explicitly permits masturbation and spilling seed, as long as it in the context of a permitted relationship.  He is clearly rejecting the possibility that Rashi meant that wasting seed in and of itself is some sort of prohibition. This is of course consistent with tyhe simple meaning of all of the Talmudic passages we have studied so far.

So again, these two great scholars, even after Rashi's comments, still understood the Halachah to be exactly the way we described the Rambam, before of course the sneaky phrase crept into the text of the Rambam sometime in the 13th century - which we discussed here. Despite their attempts though, Rabbeinu Tam's words were going to have more influence on the future development of Halacha.  In the next post I will start tracking how this happened. 

A New Idea Arrives Upon the Halachic Scene

Now that we have established the opinion of the Rambam, it is time to track how a completely new understanding of the "prohibition" of masturbation came upon the Halachic scene, and pretty much replaced the traditional understanding of the Torah and Talmud up until somewhere in the middle of the 13th century.  However, before I begin this discussion, I believe it is important to explain that the Rambam's understanding was by no means limited to the Rambam.  It was the widespread understanding in the Rabbinic world.

For example, the Semag (Sefer Mitzvot Gadol - early 13th century) that early Ashkenazic Halachic work written by R' Moshe of Coucy in France, demonstrates that the understanding of the Rambam was widespread.  The Semag lists masturbation during his discussion of practices that could lead one into a life of sexual immorality.  In general, the rabbis of this time both in Ashkenazic countries such as France, and in Sephardic countries such as Spain advised that one should avoid practices that lead one to live a life in pursuit of sexual pleasure. Among the prohibitions listed together with masturbation are things like flirting, gazing upon women, touching, etc...  Other early Halachic works such as Sefer Ha'eshkol (R' Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne - 12th century) also condemned the practice because they felt that one who deliberately engages in such practices could lead to sexual immorality.  This was the general understanding, and it was generally accepted.

The reason why all of this is important, is that there is no inherent prohibition of "wasting seed". If that is the case, then when an ordinary young man is aroused, which is completely normal and common, and he deals with this arousal by masturbating, no terrible sin has occurred.  When a loving couple engages in sexual activity, and a man ejaculates, no terrible sin has occurred either.  In fact, the couple has only engaged in a loving activity which is to be expected of a healthy couple.  The problem is only when one engages in a lifestyle that seeks sexual stimulation, and when one spends his time pursuing such matters.  In such instances, engaging in masturbation while pursuing immorality is the issue these rabbis were discussing.

It is also important to point out that the views of these Rabbis and of the Talmud itself were stated in a world in which attitudes toward what constitutes sexual immorality were very different from what we find today.  the topic of exactly how to apply these ideas in modern times will have to wait until we complete our halachic discussion.

The New Concept - "destroying seed"

One of the most famous Talmudic and halachic scholars of all time, is Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, known as Rashi. He was famous for many things, but on a literary level, he is well known for his brevity and his ability to convey big ideas in just a few words.  so many times, extremely difficult Talmudic concepts are explained by Rashi in a short simple sentence fragment that somehow manages to illuminate everything.  Occasionally though, his brevity also leaves a lot of room for further interpretation.  Hence, numerous books have been written and Talmudic discourses expound for thousands of pages just what did Rashi mean when he said this or that.

There are two statements of Rashi that completely changed the Halachic understanding of masturbation for the remainder of Halachic history. I will state that frankly I am not completely sure if that was his intention, but so it was.  In Rashi's commentary to R' Yitzchak Alfasi's (known as "the Rif") halachic work in Shabbat chap 14, 108b Rashi makes one of his short statements of explanation.  The Rif himself quotes the Gemara in Niddah that we have been discussing this whole time, which he almost certainly understood the same way that the Rambam understood.  The Rif mentions the comparison to murder, which almost everyone until the time of Rashi understood to mean two things, that 1) not engaging in having children was similar to murder and 2) it was meant to sound scary. However, Rashi comments as follows:

"They (those who engage in masturbation) are destroying ("mashchitim") seed that could become children"

The second comment of Rashi is in Ketubot 39a.  There the Talmud is discussing the permissibility to use a form of contraception called a "Mokh", which is some sort of sponge placed in the vagina during intercourse as a barrier. The Gemara permits its use when pregnancy can be a health concern for the woman in question.  The simple understanding is that may have sexual relations with his wife even though they will not be fulfilling the mitzvah of procreation.  Rashi there states:

"They are permitted to use a "mokh" and they are not (considered to be) like they are destroying seed" 

The simple understanding of Rashi, IMHO, is that he is also referring to the concern that one is obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of procreation.  When he uses the term "destroying seed" he gives it away when he states, "that could become children".  In other words, he is stating the same understanding as everyone else.  The reason he chooses the term "haschata" (destruction) is because in the story of Onan in the Torah this term is used as well.  The "destruction" there has been understood to mean that by not "building" the world (i.e. having children) one is passively engaged in "destruction."  The reason why it is difficult to imagine that Rashi meant the destruction of the seed itself, is because there are so many examples that we have discussed in which sexual activity and ejaculation is permitted even though pregnancy is impossible.

However, this is not how Rashi has been interpreted by most Halachic authorities ever since. They understood that Rashi is trying to teach us that there is some prohibition literally in "wasting seed'.  This is revolutionary.  Especially since it is nowhere to be found in the Torah or Talmud that "wasting seed" i.e. ejaculating semen outside of a woman's body is some sort of problem. So, a brand-new sin has arrived on the Halachic scene.

Rashi's grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, was the next step in the development of this new concept.  We will analyze his opinion in our next post and discuss the termendous influence of Rabbeinu Tam on the future development of the Halachic process regarding masturbation.