Free Essay: Jewish Views on Marriage, Love and Sexuality
Jewish views on marriage, love and sexuality are very strict. Jews view marriage as a contractual bond that God commanded his people. A woman and a man should come together in a relationship that involves God directly. Although the sole reason for marriage is not procreation, Jewish marriages are expected to have children and fulfill the commandment of God.
Having children in a marriage is a commandment as written in Genesis 1:28. Marriage is also viewed as a means for a wife and husband to merge into one soul. This is the reason why unmarried men are considered incomplete. An unmarried man has a single part of the larger whole and for it to be unified with the other half he has to marry.
It is important to note that some denominations among the Jewish such as Reform, Conservative Judaism and Re-constructionist recognize same-sex marriages. They also de-emphasize procreation while viewing marriage as simply a bond that bind a couple together.
The larger Jewish community remains strict about marriage, love and sexuality. They base their stance on the passages of Tenakh, which is their Bible. To them, sexual intercourse should occur between the married couple only. It is an essential part of the relationships of human being.
Marriage and sex are considered important and choosing celibate is not natural. Family and marriage are very important in the Jewish teachings. Most Jews yearn to establish large families just like God promised Abraham.
This is captured in Genesis 15:5 which says, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars- if indeed you can count them…so shall your offspring be.” In Jewish teachings, sex is not only for the purpose of procreation but also a means that married couples should use to show their love to one another. A sexual relationship between a woman and a man is sanctified by marriage.
Love brings a couple together and marriage purifies their relationship. In marriage, the laws of sexual purity or niddah control sex. Women are forbidden from having sex when having their menstrual period. After menstrual period, a woman undergoes a ritual bath known as mikveh after which she can now sleep with the husband. Undergoing this ritual bath makes a woman as fresh as she was on her wedding day.
Many orthodox Jews observe these rules even today although progressive Jews view them as outdated and therefore they do not adhere to them.
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Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_on_marriage
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/jewish-view-sex-marriage-sexuality/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/relationships/juloveandsexrev1.shtml