Post 1: Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:40 am
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| I have a question. When Judaisme turned from polygamy to monogamy was it only for the reason of cultural adaption or exist also theological, spritual or mystical reason?. As far as I know, the Ashkenasim turned defnitly to monogamy around 1000 p.C. | |
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Post 2: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:04 pm
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| I don't think there's any Jewish scripture that forbids polygamy, but at some point (the time may have been around 1000 or even later, I'm not sure) prominent rabbis began forbidding it. I imagine it was more a cultural thing than a religious thing.
By that time, polygamy was pretty rare in most Jewish communities . . . but not in all. There were a few Sephardic communities that still practiced polygamy until very recently. Israel, in fact, has a 'grandfather' rule about polygmany--if you make aliyah to Israel from one of those rare communities that still has (or had till recently) polygamy, you're covered. But you can't contract a new polygamous marriage in Israel. At any event, there's no theological or spiritual reason I know of to forbid polygamy. As long as you're talking about consenting adults, I personally don't see anything wrong with it. The problem with the renegade Mormons who practice polygamy is the fact that it so often involves underage girls with no say in the matter. Additionaly, it sometimes involves an excessive number of wives. (Islam forbids any more than four wives, who must each be treated equally. One to three was probably the norm in mid-eastern culture, but I'm talking off the top of my head at the moment, without solid research to back me up.) |
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Post 3: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:25 pm
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This is from Wikipedia:
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Post 4: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:50 pm
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| OK, thanks. What about concubinage? | |
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Post 5: Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:07 pm
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| The halacha (Jewish law; literally 'the way') regarding concubinage is a bit beyond me. However, I do know that, technically speaking, adultery in Judaism means sleeping with a married woman. So if a married guy sleeps with an unmarried woman, it's not adultery. We don't generally regard it as a good thing, of course--and there haven't been formal concubines for centuries (unless, like polygamy, there were a few small communities that retained the practice.) I think there are rules and regulations about how you treat your concubines.
Once in Torah study, we were discussing the embarrassing fact that a Jewish guy keeping a mistress is not technically forbidden (though certainly frowned upon nowadays.) One guy's face lit up with mischief, and he told us that as soon as he got home, he would say, "Honey, guess what I learned in Torah class today!" 
Edit: Here's some more info from Wikipedia. |
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Post 6: Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:27 pm
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| I like that dose of liberalism, as long as everyone is consentating its alright.
What about the other side of a coin; Could a women have multiple husbands and what if a married women sleeps with an unmarried man? |
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Post 7: Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:03 pm
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As I answer this, remember that while I, personally, don't see anything wrong with polygamy among consenting adults, that doesn't mean Judaism overall is ready to embrace it again. Marriage between two individuals (and two individuals only) has been the norm for a long time now in Judaism, excepting those rare communities mentioned above. And while polygamy doesn't seem to break any halacha (Jewish law), I've never heard of any significant push to bring it back into fashion. Honestly, I doubt we'll see one. Gay marriage is the big issue now. Out of the four main branches of Judaism, three branches--Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist--allow gay marriage, but no form of Orthodox Judaism does. Meanwhile, there's no way to practice polyandry within Jewish law. (I think polyandry is the right word for one woman with multiple husbands.) I don't have an issue with it, personally--and I don't care if the state legalizes polyandry among consenting adults. But I doubt we'll ever see a rabbi performing a polyandrous wedding ceremony! To be fair, though, I don't know of any rabbis who would perform a polygamous ceremony either. A married woman who sleeps with a man other than her husband is guilty of adultery according to Jewish law. Technically it's regarded as much worse than a married man sleeping with an unmarried woman--however, practically speaking, both are severely frowned on nowadays. Everyone wants to see a happy married couple (gay or straight, in liberal synagogues) who don't cheat on each other. |
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Post 8: Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:26 am
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You're right, that would be polyandry. Is there a reason for the double standard here? Is it because of the culture or because practically that type of union does not provide the benefits of polygmy you mentioned such as producing children?
Again, why the double standard? I don't see why it is worse for a married woman to sleep with an unmarried man than for a married man to sleep with an unmarried woman. Do you know what the reasoning behind this is? |
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Post 9: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:27 am
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Tradition. Back in the day, things were very male dominated, and the rules stem from that time period. Since monogamy is the current 'rule' of the day, there certainly isn't any reason to change things. |
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Post 10: Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:01 pm
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That makes sense. Thanks. |
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