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SEPARATING THE ADULT FROM ADULTERY

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Daniel Schiff

o Tinaf- You shall not commit adultery." ¹ These two simple Hebrew words comprise the only sexual transgression to be mentioned in the Ten Command­ ments themselves. Of all the many sexual prohibitions recorded in the written Torah , adultery alone came to occupy this place of enormous prominence. It is hardly surprising that this is so, for in the Jewish mind set adultery, unlike other sexual violations, represents the shattering of a precious covenant of commitment and devotion. Not by accident does the seventh commandment appear directly opposite the second commandment on the tablets of the Decalogue : just as idolatry signifies a destructive spurning of the covenant with God , so adultery signifies the rupturing of the most fundamental covenant in human life. In fact, as the Mechilta saw it, there is an integral connection between the two:" someone who betrays his spouse will eventually betray God himself." 3 Given this kind of observation, there can be little wonder that Judaism came to hold adultery as a desecration of great magnitude.

Viewed through the perspective of history, the conspicuous location of the interdiction against adultery within the Ten Commandments ensured that adultery would occupy a most signifi­cant place in the moral teachings of both Jewish and Western civilization. Indeed, the adultery prohibition, the guard at the gates of marital fidelity, came to be seen as critical to the very function­ing of society itself. For it was, after all, obedience to this most basic of laws that provided the family- the fundamental unit seen to be mandated by God - with ensured boundaries within which it was possible for a secure environment to flourish.

Moral thinking, however, is never static, and although the passing centuries saw the prohibition against adultery continue to be