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The Talmudic Sex exchange, part 2: ‘The Talmud gets a lot wrong, but it asks the right questions’

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June 1, 2016

Maggie Anton is the award-winning author of “Rashi's Daughters,” historical novels set in the household of the great medieval Jewish scholar, whose daughters studied Talmud when these sacred texts were forbidden to women. The first book of her new series, “Rav Hisda's Daughter: A Novel of Love, The Talmud and Sorcery,” which takes place in 3rd-century Babylonia as the Talmud is being created, was selected for 2012 National Jewish Book Award in Fiction and Library Journal's choice for Best 2012 Historical Fiction.

This exchange focuses on her new book, Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say About You-Know-What. Part 1 can be found here.

***

Dear Maggie,

According to your first answer, the Talmudic sages sound very progressive on sexual matters – not only for their times, but also in comparison to today’s norms. 

But surely sex in the Talmud isn’t all forward thinking and feminism. There are a number of curious restrictions and false, unscientific beliefs that your book mentions here and there (e.g. the idea that female orgasms produce male sons, and that that is something to aspire to). One might ask – why should we go to the Talmud for sexual advice and inspiration when we have better updated sources that don’t make us cringe as often?  

Yours,

Shmuel.

***

Dear Shmuel

I love your question since it basically asks why go to the Talmud for any advice and inspiration when we have so many newer sources that don’t make us cringe. It’s not surprising that there are false, unscientific beliefs about sex in the Talmud. Nearly all its medical advice is incorrect, as would be expected from a culture that believed illness was caused by demons or the Evil Eye. Considering that the Talmud was composed over a thousand years ago, during the so-called Dark Ages, I find it surprising how much of its advice can be useful and doesn’t make me cringe. 

I go to the Talmud for advice and inspiration because I’m a Jew and the Talmud has been the source of Jewish Law and tradition for over 1500 years. Yes, there are Talmudic discussions that make me cringe even more than the sex parts do; there are Torah passages that make me cringe too. While we should recognize, and accept, that the Talmud is a product of its times, we also know that human nature isn’t so different now than it was in the fourth century. People still have strong sexual urges that can cause problems unless properly channeled, ideally into marriage, as the Rabbis advise. And it is comforting, and reassuring, to learn that even pious Talmudic sages had difficulties controlling these urges.

We can find plenty of Talmudic discussions that address other practical issues we grapple with today. While the Torah lists many sins or crimes requiring the death penalty, the Rabbis put so many burdens on proving these that capital punishment was essentially abolished. They dealt with income inequality by taxing the rich heavily to support the poor and shamed those who tried to escape their obligations to give charity. The Sages, while disapproving of falsehoods in general, agreed that sometimes it is acceptable, even necessary, to lie to prevent a greater evil. They vigorously debated the extent of responsibility parents have to support their children and vice versa, and many additional subjects that deal with how to interact with our fellows in a just and functional society. The Rabbis may not always have the right answers, but they often ask the right questions – questions Jews are still struggling with.

What the various sages say in discussing these age-old questions, and many others, can provide us with wisdom that is meaningful to us in the twenty-first century. Talmudic debates also provide us the tools to weigh different arguments, to discard those that aren’t true or won’t work, to think things through before we decide how to act. These are skills that seem sadly lacking in today’s society.

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