The result was no further procreation and not even an egg could be found anywhere. The pious knew that if they killed it, the world would come to an end. Therefore, they pleaded that its power be reduced by half, but heaven did not grant this wish. The pious then blinded it with the result that human beings are at least not infatuated by close relatives.” One of the Talmudic sages stated that everyone should be grateful to their parents for if they had not sinned, we would not exist. Another sage recommended that the yetzer hara always be pushed away with the left hand and befriended with the right.® Such statements occur often.
Sexuality was to be expressed through marriage and the debate was whether the obligation to marry applied only to men, or equally to women. Interestingly enough the statement"a man who has no wife, is not a human being" was changed by medieval Christian censorship to"A Jew who has no wife..." This may have been done with an eye toward monasticism.’ Legislation promoted early marriage. Every man was to marry and beget children as long as he was capable of doing so. Birth control was permitted only for specific health reasons, for example, if the wife was endangered by childbirth.’ The obligation of marriage also included the obligation to engage in sexual intercourse.'®
The detailed discussions of intercourse and its status as a religious duty for the husband emphasized the pleasurable aspects. The Talmudic regulations stipulated that men who have no work should cohabit daily, workmen, twice a week, those who need to be away from home, once a week or at least once a month. Sailors, only once each half year. Monetary penalties were provided for those who did not fulfill their obligations." There were no restrictions on virtually anything connected with the sexual act, although the Talmud counselled modesty and that the purpose of procreation be remembered; this may have been influenced by the Christian environment. With the exception of the Essenes and the Qumram sect, there were few tendencies toward asceticism.
There were, however, efforts to build a stern sexual morality which was not to be relaxed for frivolous reasons as shown by the well-known story
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