Birth Control in Jewish Law: Marital Relations, Contraception, and Abortion as Set Forth in the Classic Texts of Jewish Law

Abstract

The author, a rabbi, examines the relevant precepts pertaining to marital relations, contraception, and abortion in Jewish law as found in the Talmud, Codes of Jewish Law, and rabbinic Responsa literature. He interprets the legal and moral Judaic teaching on such themes as sexual responsibility in marriage, the commandment of procreation, the legitimacy of sexual pleasure, the prohibition of onanism, the problem of irregular sex acts, the historical and legal background of contraceptive devices including the "pill," and the question of intentional abortion. As the author himself points out in his preface, the three alignments of modern Judaism—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—differ in their application of traditional Jewish law. This book succeeds in presenting the material in a manner which transcends the position of any one group. Dr. Feldman's exhaustive study makes available a wealth of primary sources on the issues surrounding birth control and abortion. Transliterated Hebrew and Aramaic terms