Sunday 28 June 2015

choleh sick - Is there a principle as “so that the sons of Israel not be promiscuous toward immorality”?


The Gemara (Sanhedrin 75a) discusses a case of a man who became so lovesick for a woman that he fell deathly ill. The Chachamim said it would be better to let him die than to be intimate with her, and even to see her (unclothed), and even to speak with her through a wall.


The Gemara asks: why is it that we take the prohibition of immorality even on pain of death to such a degree that even to speak with her through a wall is prohibited? One answer presented (that of R’ Acha b. R’ Ika) is that even though she was single, they forbade this “so that the daughters of Israel not be promiscuous toward immorality.”


What would be the Halacha in the opposite case, according to this answer of the Gemara? If it were a woman who was sick, would a man be able to speak with her through a wall? The same way that we say “so that the daughters of Israel not be promiscuous,” would we say “so that the sons of Israel not be promiscuous”? Would it make a difference if the woman was single or married if she’s the one who is sick?


Once again, I’m asking according to this answer of the Gemara. Answering that “Posek X doesn’t hold of this opinion and therefore it doesn’t matter” is not a valid answer, since I’m asking on the Gemara, not on (hopefully not) practical Halacha.




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