Passions and Prohibitions: Some Notes on Sex in the Talmud
Child molestation - “those who play with children (המשחקין בתינוקות)“; Anal sex - bi’ah shelo kedarka
Continuation of the previous piece: “Passions and Prohibitions: Some Notes on Sex in the Hebrew Bible” (September 11, 2023). See also my previous pieces: “The “Sex is Food” Metaphor in the Talmud” (June 22, 2023) and “The Geonic Bracha on Virginity (ברכת בתולים)” (August 27, 2023)
Child molestation - “those who play with children (המשחקין בתינוקות)“
Wikipedia, “Child sexual abuse”:
“Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child […]”
Niddah 13b (sections # 5-7), bolding mine:
ת"ר הגרים והמשחקין בתינוקות מעכבין את המשיח
בשלמא גרים כדר' חלבו דא"ר חלבו קשין גרים לישראל כספחת
אלא משחקין בתנוקות מאי היא
אילימא משכב זכור
בני סקילה נינהו ?!
אלא דרך אברים
בני מבול נינהו?!
אלא דנסיבי קטנות דלאו בנות אולודי נינהו
The Sages taught in a baraita: Converts and those who play with children (המשחקין בתינוקות - ham’sahkin b’tinokot) delay the coming of the Messiah.
The Gemara asks: Granted with regard to converts, this is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥelbo, as Rabbi Ḥelbo says: Converts are as harmful to the Jewish people as a leprous scab on the skin, as they are not proficient in the performance of the mitzvot and born Jews learn from them.
But with regard to the category of ‘those who play with children’, to what is it referring?
If we say that this is referring to homosexuality,
such men are liable to be executed by stoning, and their behavior is criticized not simply because they delay the Messiah.
Rather, one might suggest that this is referring to those who emit semen by way of other limbs (דרך אברים), i.e., without engaging in intercourse;
if so, they are considered as though they are bringing a flood (מבול), and are therefore liable to be punished themselves with a flood.
Rather, the baraita means that they marry minor (=prepubescent) girls (קטנות) who are not yet capable of bearing children, consequently emitting semen for naught [...]
The simple meaning of והמשחקין בתינוקות is having unwanted sexual activity with children, i.e. molestation. (I saw this point made in a Bar-Ilan University dissertation on sexuality in the Talmud.)
Anal sex in the Talmud - bi’ah shelo kedarka - ביאה שלא כדרכה
Based on ביאה שלא כדרכה – ויקיפדיה, see there for full citations.
In Jewish law, "intercourse in an unusual manner" (abbreviated as בשל"כ) refers to heterosexual anal intercourse. The term combines the concept of "intercourse" with the phrase "in an unusual manner", referring to performing an action unusually.
In regards to consummating marriage; forbidden relationships
In Jewish law, such intercourse is considered, in most respects, to be full sexual relations, equivalent to vaginal intercourse: for the purposes of marriage, and for the purposes of women forbidden to have sex with (איסור עריות).
However, the law differs regarding impurity (טומאת ביאה).
In regards to marital relations
Many metaphors of food are used for sex in the following passages. See on this my “The “Sex is Food” Metaphor in the Talmud” , cited in the intro.
In general, for couples allowed to have sexual relations, there's no prohibition against anal intercourse. This is stated in the Talmud Bavli, Nedarim 20b:
אמר רבי יוחנן: [...] כל מה שאדם רוצה לעשות באשתו — עושה.
משל לבשר הבא מבית הטבח,
רצה לאכלו במלח — אוכלו.
צלי — אוכלו.
מבושל — אוכלו.
שלוק — אוכלו.
וכן דג הבא מבית הצייד.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: [...] whatever a man wishes to do with his wife he may do. He may engage in sexual intercourse with her in any manner that he wishes, and need not concern himself with these restrictions.
As an allegory, it is like meat that comes from the butcher.
If he wants to eat it with salt, he may eat it that way.
If he wants to eat it roasted, he may eat it roasted. If he wants to eat it cooked, he may eat it cooked.
If he wants to eat it boiled, he may eat it boiled.
And likewise with regard to fish that come from the fisherman.
Two anecdotes are subsequently told:
ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרבי, אמרה לו:
רבי, ערכתי לו שולחן והפכו!
אמר לה: בתי, תורה התירתך, ואני מה אעשה ליך?
ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרב, אמרה לו:
רבי, ערכתי לו שולחן והפכו!
אמר: מאי שנא מן ביניתא?
The Gemara relates: A certain woman, who came before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi to complain about her husband, said to him:
My teacher, I set him a table! using a euphemism to say that she lay before him during intimacy, and he turned it over
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to her: My daughter, the Torah permitted him to engage in sexual intercourse with you even in an atypical manner, and what can I do for you if he does so?
Similarly, a certain woman who came before Rav said to him:
My teacher, I set a table for him and he turned it over!
He said to her: In what way is this case different from a fish [binnita] that one may eat any way he wishes?
Interpretations
The common interpretation of those Talmudic stories is that ‘overturning the table’ (הפיכת השלחן) is a euphemism to describe anal intercourse. An outlier is the opinion of Ra’avad, who believes that ‘overturning the table’ is in fact a euphemism for vaginal intercourse with penetration from behind. Ra’avad believes that only such intercourse is permitted by the Talmud, while anal intercourse is in fact prohibited.
In regards to prohibition of wasting semen
On this issue, the authorities are divided.
Maimonides, and following him the Tur, prohibit wasting semen (הוצאת זרע לבטלה) during anal intercourse.
On the other hand, the authors of the Tosafot only prohibit wasting semen intentionally, as in the case of Er and Onan who wanted to prevent Tamar from becoming pregnant. But if a man has occasional unusual intercourse with his wife, he's allowed to ejaculate outside.
Rema cites the strict opinion of the Tur and the lenient opinion of the Tosafot, but adds a caveat: "Although all these are permitted, whoever sanctifies himself with what is permitted to him, he is called holy".
R’ Abraham Isaac Kook saw the permission for anal intercourse as an outlet for those attracted to homosexual acts.