Sperm in vain
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Sperm in vain (or Semen in vain or Seed in vain; Hebrew: זרע לבטלה, pronounced: Zerah Le-Batalah or Zera Levatala) is a Talmudic term and concept that refers to any sexual act in which a male's sperm is being "wasted", as an act not for the purpose of procreation, which would turn the sexual act to be not in accordance with the Halakha [1]:
"But why all these precautions? — Because otherwise one might emit semen in vain, and R. Johanan stated: Whosoever emits semen in vain deserves death, for it is said in Scripture."
— Babylon Talmud, Tractate Niddah, p. 13a
Prior to the 20th century, it was a Jewish term usually (but not only) referring to masturbation. In Shulchan Aruch, on "Yoreh Deah", it is stated that wasting sperm, not for the purpose of procreation, is considered to be a sin greater than any sin in the Torah. However, in some forms, the Halakha permits intercourse with pregnant, infertile, and elderly women for the purpose of fulfilling the "Onah" Mitzvah-commandment, in which the husband is obliged to fulfill his marital obligations.
Homosexual intercourse is also considered an act of sperm in vain; as for masturbation, despite not having been explicitly prohibited in the Torah, the Halkha and the Oral Torah views masturbation as an Halakhaic prohibition and a great sin. The attitude towards a male sperm is one of a potential future living human being, and thus masturbation, as an act of sperm in vain, is referred as a murder, in which the masturbator is exterminating his potential offspring's. Even marital sexual acts in which the sperm is not aimed at the vagina (and should it be spilled), is considered an act of sperm in vain.
The Halakhic attitude towards a female masturbation is more of a moderate approach. Despite two rabbinical opinions of R. Ben Ish Chai and R. Moshe Feinstein, comparing it to an act of a male's masturbation, all other rabbinical statements favor such an act, and does not view it as an act of "Sperm in vain".
In modern days, the Halakhic question on whether taking a male sperm for the purpose of medical examinations or insemination remains open.
See also
Notes
- ^ Bris Kodesh, Glossery
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