SEXIS WRONG

golden bells, which are attached by gossamer threads
to several huge sticks. He begins to poke and taunt me
with the sticks, and a haunting melody arises from the
shimmer ing bells.”
9. “I fantasize a whole sorority of girls tying one of their sisters
down and tickling her underarms, ribs, and feet.”
10. “I get turned on by the thought of a woman silencing me
by pressing the palm of her hand over my mouth.”
11. “This great goddess in the sky with a giant Afro sends
down a ladder for me. As I climb up, my clothes shed
like a snake’s skin and my organ is growing to meet the
size of my goddess. As we make hair-raising sex, our
love juices fall on the earth below, and the people are so
happy that they prepare hamburgers and hotdogs and
declare a holiday.”
abortion among Conservative or Orthodox Jews.
4. Birth Control: Because the Bible prohibits the wasting of
the seed, the Orthodox reject any form of contraception.
Modern Conservative and Reform rabbis condone the use
of contraceptives. Many Orthodox rabbis have approved
the use of the Pill because, technically, the “seed” is not
spilled on the ground.
5. Homosexuality: The Old Testament says that it is “an
abomination” and punishes the act by death. Jewish tradition
prohibited two men from sleeping together even when
no sexual activity took place.
6. Nudism: Absolutely prohibited. In addition, Orthodox Jewish
women do not wear short skirts, low necklines, or even
sleeveless dresses. The Reform movement has moved
away from this rigid position.
(Prepared by the Project especially for the Book of Sex Lists.)
10 Jewish Sex Laws and Customs
Jewish sexual life is carefully prescribed and circumscribed.
Almost every aspect of sex has a rule. The rules come from
the Torah (the five Books of Moses) and the Talmud (Code
of Laws), the Mishnah, and the commentary on that code
(the Gemara). In addition, over the years, rabbis
(teachers) have sug gested revisions, many
of which have been accepted.
7. Pornography: Technically prohibited. The rabbinic authorities
even ruled that it was illegal for a man to stare at
any woman except his wife. However, there is good evidence
that the rabbis and scholars who spent their days discussing
and analyzing Jewish religion, laws, and customs
frequently told sexy and scatological jokes. They just never
put them down on paper.
It is il legal to have sex when any
light is burning.
In most cases, the rules today are primarily of historical interest.
However, from the Hassidim of New York City and Israel
to the small number of Jews in Yemen who refused to leave
(for religious reasons) to go to Israel, there are Jews who still
ob serve the rules as they were observed thousands of years
ago. These are:
1. General Sexual Conduct: Practically all forms of sex out side
of marriage are prohibited. This includes any form of promiscuity,
prostitution, and adultery and any form of lewd
behavior.
2. Transvestism: The rule of the Bible is that “a woman shall
not wear that which pertains to a man, neither shall a man
put on a woman’s garment.” Orthodox Jewish women today
cannot wear slacks. Conservative rabbis permit slacks
if they are obviously tailored for a woman—if, for exam ple,
they have buttons or a zipper on the side—but women are
still prohibited from wearing a fly in front.
3.Abortion: This is permitted in Jewish law only to save the
life of the mother. However, modern Reform rabbis are more
lenient and approve abortions where there is a preg nancy
resulting from rape, evidence that the child is de formed, or
other objective reasons. There is still no general approval of
8. Prohibitions of Sexual Intercourse: Many. There are thirtysix
sins for which the punishment is death. A large number
of these are sexual, for example: sexual intercourse with
one’s mother, with one’s father’s wife, with a daughter-inlaw,
with any other male, with an animal, between a woman
and an animal, a woman and her daughter, with a married
woman, with one’s sister, with one’s father’s sis ter or
one’s mother’s sister, with one’s wife’s sister (while the
wife is living), with one’s brother’s wife or one’s fa ther’s
brother’s wife, with a woman while she is menstruating.
Also, violating the rules relating to circum cision.
The prohibition of sex during the menstrual period was not
simply while the wife was menstruating. Actually, no matter
how many days the woman menstruated, the Bible said that
the menstrual period was seven days. Therefore, the man
had to refrain for a week following the first stain; then, to
make sure, the Talmud added five more days. Thus, in the
Jewish tradition, there are twelve days in which a woman is
in dry dock.
Although not punishable by death, there are many other taboos
relating to sexual intercourse. For example, it is il legal to
have sex when any light is burning. It is illegal to have sex during
Yom Kippur or any other fast day. It is il legal for a man to
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