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May a girl under three who had sex and enjoyed it marry a cohen?
Home » Daily Peppers
Yaron Yadan 04/23/2009
May a girl under three who had sex and enjoyed it marry a cohen?

A woman once approached Rabbi Akiva with a question: I had sex while still a girl under the age of three. May I marry a cohen? What are the issues under debate? On one hand I has sexual relations, and anyone who has sexual relations is a harlot — according to the laws of the Torah a harlot is forbidden to marry a cohen. On the other hand, since I had sexual relations before the age of three I am not considered a harlot. Rabbi Akiva answered her: You are not a harlot and you are permitted to a cohen since you had sexual relations under the age of three. She told Rabbi Akiva: Rabbi, I had sex many times before I reached the age of three and I even enjoyed it, like an infant whose finger you put in a plate of honey; the first time he objects, the second time he objects, but after he gets used to the sweet taste, the third time he licks his finger willingly. Thus, I too tasted of sexual relations and am to be considered a harlot. Rabbi Akiva answered her: If so, you are considered a harlot and are forbidden to marry a cohen. The scholars questioned this ruling and asked Rabbi Akiva: Since it has been established from the days of Moses our teacher, as tradition, that a girl under the age of three who had sexual relations is permitted to marry a cohen and is not considered a harlot, we should not draw a distinction between one who has had sex once and one who has had sex many times, and even one who enjoyed it is not considered a harlot. The scholars’ argument was correct and Rabbi Akiva gave an incorrect ruling to sharpen the scholars’ wits and test their attentiveness.
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Niddah 45a)

About the Author

ירון ידען View all posts by Yaron Yadan

ירון ידען (נולד בטבריה ב-8 בדצמבר 1961) הוא פעיל חברתי ומייסד ארגון "דעת אמת" העומד בראש מפלגת אור.

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