guacamole
May 19th 2004, 11:33 PM
Yeah, I tried and tried but I couldn't think of a more manipulative title for the post...anyway, this is a cross post of a discussion in the apologetics forum. I thought I'd avail myself of the wisdom of our Jewish friends.
El linko:
http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26708
I hope Seasanctuary doesn't mind the cross post under my initiative. I thought it would be interesting to know if the Rabbis have any commentary to shed light on the interpretation of this passage. I don't have the resources or I would look it up myself. If anyone can propose any online resources, well then...
If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 22:13-21
It's a well known fact in the health care profession that many women do not bleed during first intercourse. Some women are born without hymens. Hymens themselves come in various patterns and elasticity, meaning they do not necessarily have to break during intercourse. Some women break their hymen through other non-sexual activities.
Yet, according to God, not bleeding during first intercourse (and your parents having the bedsheets to back it up) is punishable by DEATH.
So there are two choices:
God established a rule that kills innocents.
God intervened to keep the hymens of Jewish virgins miraculously intact.
Even today, women in some cultures must resort to surgery to fake bleeding during intercourse. I find this sickening and consider it one good reason to consider the Torah a man-made religious rule.
El linko:
http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26708
I hope Seasanctuary doesn't mind the cross post under my initiative. I thought it would be interesting to know if the Rabbis have any commentary to shed light on the interpretation of this passage. I don't have the resources or I would look it up myself. If anyone can propose any online resources, well then...
If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 22:13-21
It's a well known fact in the health care profession that many women do not bleed during first intercourse. Some women are born without hymens. Hymens themselves come in various patterns and elasticity, meaning they do not necessarily have to break during intercourse. Some women break their hymen through other non-sexual activities.
Yet, according to God, not bleeding during first intercourse (and your parents having the bedsheets to back it up) is punishable by DEATH.
So there are two choices:
God established a rule that kills innocents.
God intervened to keep the hymens of Jewish virgins miraculously intact.
Even today, women in some cultures must resort to surgery to fake bleeding during intercourse. I find this sickening and consider it one good reason to consider the Torah a man-made religious rule.