Ten Questions
Question
Hello, it’s a fellow human. I’m not particularly religious, but I’m very interested in it. I was wondering if you could answer some of the questions I present to you.
Question 1: Is viewing porn or doing sex work as a career bad?
Question 2: Are people allowed to have sex for pleasure? (Animals do it and if god created animals and life. Then why can’t humans do so? Take some primates for example, they have sex even when pregnancy is impossible)
Question 3: Are people allowed to wear condoms?
Question 4: Is masturbation bad, even though it has health benefits?
Question 5: Is homosexuality and being LGBT bad?
Question 6: If a person betters himself ( for example quitting an addiction cold turkey) without confessing or doing any special ritual. Will god automatically forgive him/her/they?
Question 7: Do you believe in abortions and that woman should have a choice?
Question 8: Is dry humping bad?
Question 9: Is hunting for food or sport bad?
Final question: Do you believe other religion’s gods are the same person but just a different interpretation?
Thanks for listening, and I am very excited to hear your answers
Answers
1. They are both completely forbidden according to Jewish Law.
2. No, absolutely not. Human beings are not animals. Human beings are created in the image of God, and it is incumbent upon us to behave in a way that reflects that. According to Judaism, intimate relationships are reserved for husbands and wives. The intimacy and the pleasure draw them closer together.
3. Judaism forbids spilling seen “in vain”. One of the definitions of that is a condom. It is permissible for wives to use birth control but not men.
4. Ejaculating semen other than in the context of normal sexual intercourse is strictly forbidden. If an unmarried man has a need to discharge sexual energy, the body has a mechanism for doing so without any assistance. The sexual drive is very strong but is controllable. A person who sees himself as nothing more than an animal will feed his every need and give in to every urge he feels. A person who understands that he has a holy soul and his purpose is to serve Hashem will become master of his desires and passions.
5. The Torah is very clear in condemning the act of homosexuality as an “abomination”. However, the Torah does not condemn the person; rather, the act.
6. Yes. Rabbeinu Yonah, one of the greatest Rabbis of the thirteenth century, writes that one of the most effective ways of showing God that they have repented is by not doing anymore whatever it was that they were doing.
7. Abortion is allowed only if the fetus is endangering the life of the mother. Danger to the mother’s mental health, like a nervous breakdown, and very serious depression are considered as dangers to life that could justify abortion. According to some authorities, if the fetus will be born with a disease, such as Tay Sachs, and will suffer terribly and also die soon after birth, then it may be aborted during the first 40 days of the pregnancy.
8. I apologize but I do not know what “dry humping” is.
9. Hunting for food is okay. But if hunting is done for sport/pleasure and one is not interested in eating the meat, there are three prohibitions that exist:
(i) One is prohibited to cause suffering to animals. This is learned from the positive commandment that one should help unload a load from an animal (Exodus 23:5).
(ii) One is not permitted to destroy anything in this world if no benefit is derived from the destruction (Deuteronomy 20:19).
(iii) Hunting was one of the characteristics of Esau and Nimrod, who were hunters. Jews, who are the children of Jacob, should not follow the ways of Esau and Nimrod, who lacked mercy to all humans and animals. We should emulate the ways of Jacob and God, and try to follow a life of good character traits.
10. All completely monotheistic religions believe in the same God. As you write, the interpretations may be different but the fundamental premise that there is One God means that it is the same.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team