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.