Torah study this past Shabbat (May 7) was devoted to studying the new interpretation (targum) of Leviticus 18:22. To clarify, that does not mean we spent the entire time talking just about verse 22. We studied that verse in the last 10 minutes of the session. But first we had to consider the context.
If I have learned anything from my years of Torah study with Rabbi Greenstein it is that context matters. Verses, words, even the week’s parashah cannot be looked at in a vacuum but have to consider what occurred before.
So we started at the beginning of the chapter:
1 And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: I am HaShem your God.
Spoiler alert, what follows these opening verses is a list of sexual prohibitions.
So why was it necessary to first say “I am HaShem your God”?
Sex happens in private. Including these words reminds us that God is watching even if no one else will know what we’re doing.
Sex could be thought of as animalistic, carnal. Including these words reminds us that all of our actions, including sex, should be done mindfully as potentially holy acts.
Where does moral behavior come from? Can’t we set our own standards? This statement reminds us that there is always an other to be considered. God is the ultimate other.
It’s about power. Just as God is inherently more powerful than humans, in ancient times (and in some cases in our times also) men had the power. Sex, therefore, happens between people who may be unequal in power and there is the potential for abuse and exploitation.
But we get ahead of ourselves. Let’s look at more verses.
3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. 4 Mine ordinances shall ye do, and My statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am HaShem your G-d. 5 Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am HaShem.
We are alerted – the rules we are about to hear will be different from what we are familiar with and the rules apply no matter where we live.
So here are the rules:
6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am HaShem.
7 The nakedness of thy father, and the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover; for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.
13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister; for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy fathers brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son’ wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are near kinswomen; it is lewdness.
18 And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime.
What unifies these rules?
They are all about close family members.
Uncontrolled sexual relations within the family are likely to sow conflict and competition.
The family home should be a safe environment. These prohibitions are aimed at the patriarch of the family, the person with most power. At the same time, they take into account the needs of the less powerful – the women – preventing exploitation and allowing them to feel safe in their own home.
It is in this context that we now consider what verse 22 means.
Our JPS Chumash translates this verse as: Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman, it is an abhorrence.
But this is a paraphrase and not a word by word meaning.
Something else I have learned from my years of Torah study – you have to look at the text.
So let’s examine the verse: V’et zakhar lo tishkav mishkevei ishah
lo tishkav – lo mean “not”, tishkav means “you shall lie”
V’et zakhar – v’ means “and”, zakhar means “man”. What does et mean?
et first occurs in Genesis 1:1: God created et the heavens and et the earth.
et next occurs in Genesis 1:4: Now the man knew et Eve his wife
Hmm, et doesn’t seem to have a translation – it’s like pointing at something while you talk about it.
But Hebrew is tricky. Words can mean more than one thing. Check out Genesis 5:24 Hanokh walked et God.
With! et means “with”
mishkevei ishah – mishkevei means “lyings with”, ishah means “a woman”
To figure out what this means, we (meaning, of course, Rabbi Greenstein) looked for other occurrences in the Torah. There’s only one similar use of this phrase in Numbers 31:18. The Israelites have come back from battle. Moses is angry because they have spared the women who seduced the Israeli men at the bidding of Balaam. He orders his men to slay every woman except those who have not known mishkav zakhar – mishkav means “lyings ” (feminine form, as women are doing the lying) , zakhar means “man”. What Moses told his men was to spare the women who had not had sexual intercourse with a man.
Putting it all together so far – “with a man you shall not lie in sexual intercourse with a woman”.
And this is where the context comes in – the prior set of rules (verses 6-18) was about situations involving potentially coercive sex. Context suggests that that is what verse 22 is about as well: “with a[nother] man you shall not lie in [forced] sexual intercourse with a woman”.
No prohibition on consensual sex.
And a translation that is so applicable for us today when there seems to be an epidemic of violence against women.
Thank you, Rabbi Greenstein, for helping us to interpret the words of Torah.
Image(s): Wisdom and Wonder © Robert Couse-Baker used with permission via Creative Commons License
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Not being able to attend Torah study last Shabbat, I wondered about the actual words and how Rabbi Greenstein derived this translation. Thank you for explaining it. Translation is a true art.
You explain it very well.