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..