should be pushed away with the left hand and befriended with the right(Sotah 47a).
In postbiblical times Jewish leaders had neither the inclination, nor normally the power, to carry out death sentences demanded by the Bible for sexual crimes. Instead, they used disciplinary measures to maintain sexual morality. In cases of adultery, the husband was forced to divorce his wife and she was prohibited from marrying her paramour(Sifre[ed. Friedmann] p. 122b; M. Sotah 5:1). The ordeal for women suspected of adultery disappeared with the Temple(M. Sotah 9.1).
The religious duty of procreation based on God ’s command to Adam and Eve,“Be fruitful and multiply,” was frequently stressed in the talmudic literature as otherwise the Divine image would be diminished on earth(Yeb.63b). The sages debated whether the obligation of marriage applied only to men or to women also(Yeb. 65b) and said,“A man who has no wife is no human being.” Interestingly enough, the medieval Christian censorship of the Talmud forced the wording to change to:“A Jew who has no wife...)” probably with an eye to Christian monasticism.'> Every man was commanded to marry and beget children as long as he was physically able to do so, an attitude that promoted early marriage among Jews . It led to a strict prohibition of castration, which was extended to animals(Shab. 110b) and made birth control unlawful for the husband, while some teachers permitted it to the wife in special circumstances as when she was so young that childbirth might endanger her life(M. Ket. 5.6). The obligation of marriage carried with it the religious duty to have sexual intercourse, which was specified by profession:“Those who have no work, should cohabit every day, workmen, twice a week, people whose occupation forces them to be absent from home, once a week, or even once a month; sailors once every half year”(M. Ket. 5.7). Monetary penalties existedfor husbands and wives who refused to fulfill their marital duties(Ned. 20b). Intercourse between married individuals is permissible in any form or position, and everything that