The Talmud vs. Todd Akin

Two thousand years ago, the Talmud noted (Avodah Zarah, 54b) that if a man has intercourse with his neighbor's wife, although justice would demand that she not get pregnant, "the world goes on its way."
   
You might see this as a lament, a protest or a sigh of sad resignation.  What I want to know is what makes a man like Todd Akin less wise about sexuality than the rabbis from 2,000 years ago?
 
Good people who get shot, bleed. Saints who sicken, often die. The somatics of an individual do not follow moral norms. There are those who believe only foolish or hollow or immoral people get cancer or heart disease. There are apparently even people who believe only those acquiesce in intercourse become pregnant.
   
But the world goes on its way. Randomness rules, or at least it does much of the time. Is this a religious dilemma? Of course it is.  Many theologians deal with the difficulty by asserting that only randomness can admit of moral conduct. If you got good every time you were good, them everyone would behave -- but only for the reward, not for the sake of goodness.  Therefore we all know that no matter how you behave, bad consequences may follow. To believe otherwise is somewhere between childishness and wishful thinking. It is in any case not what we demand of our representatives. Believing you make your own luck in is world is a conviction often held by lucky people. 
 
Victims know better. And their suffering should not be exacerbated by insisting, against evidence, common sense, maturity and wisdom, that it is their fault.

 

 

 

Comments

[gal416]

10:59 PM on 09/17/2012

Excellent article, Rabbi. Though bad consequences may happen to rich and poor alike, "we know that all things work together for good to them that love G-d, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

[dpkjj]

05:08 PM on 08/30/2012

You are a wise man, Rabbi.

[TruthOverComfort]

09:19 PM on 08/24/2012

Wolpe, I disagree with the message in your post. If the Hebrew Bible showed compassion and sense to rape victims, then Deuteronomy 22:28-29 would not state, “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her."

[Lynne Jacobson Arons]

01:46 PM on 08/27/2012

This made the rapist responsible for his actions. He couldn't just go merrily on his way, he was now responsible for supporting the woman and her offspring. In other cultures at that time, the man was not responsible and often the woman was stoned to death for licentiousness, or if not, she was "ruined" and not marriageable to anyone else. AT THE TIME THEY LIVED IN this was quite progressive.

[phal4875]

06:09 PM on 08/23/2012

Fanned, Rabbi Wolpe. I enjoy you on television shows, also. Your point about the seeming randomness of life is very wise. You state that "Randomness rules, or at least it does much of the time." One of the hardest lessons we all learn is that leading a good or bad life does not mean that someone will have a life filled with joy or misery, respectively.

Is this because we just fail to understand some underlying plan, or is it because the universe does not care a bit about us?

[StephanieStahl]

01:41 AM on 08/24/2012

No, the universe does not care about us. However, the Creator of the universe loves us very much, even if we don't always fully understand His love. Fortunately, the heavens declare His glory and the firmament (skies) proclaims His handiwork (Psalm 19:1); see http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-1992-17-a-web.jpg

And, yes, the world is run by cats; we just feed them. The righteous man regardeth his beast but even the mercies of the wicked are cruel (Proverb 12:10). *smiles*

[Steelsil]

03:43 AM on 08/23/2012

The only Bush that ever talked was Shrub, and everybody but Haliburton, Bechtel, and Xe would be better off if he had been mute.

[Abnormal Wrench]

11:20 PM on 08/22/2012

Was this before or after the two were stoned to death for adultery?

[been2there]

11:10 PM on 08/22/2012

Yes, and the woman whose body is involved has the final say about whether or not she will continue to do all the work for what is, in practical terms, a parasite.
We can rebuild the safety net to make continuing the pregnancy a better option. We can make darn sure that all students are educated about chastity, contraception, and parenthood. We can make contraception easily available (your daughters are not your property--some decisions become theirs simply by virtue of their life being affected; the same holds true for sons.)
Families can help--if they can afford to. And churches can stop being so darned obsessed with sex!

[Christopher Nagy]

10:41 PM on 08/22/2012

So even a couple of millennium ago, it was accepted that we don't live in an inherently just world. What justice is in this world is the justice that man imposes.

[saw1950]

08:51 PM on 08/22/2012

this is what we have at the moment in Missouri; a woman Senator who has told us listen to me I know what is best for you and a man aspiring to take her place that needs to take a class on how to shut his mouth and not have any more VP Biden moments for the rest of his life. As far as I am concerned neither of them should represent Missouri in the US Senate.

[iridium53]

08:28 PM on 08/22/2012

A little obscure, Rabbi.

Perhaps purposely so.

Plain language would be more persuasive.

[WolfLady]

07:47 PM on 08/22/2012

And which of these oh-so-wise Talmudic rabbis decided that every Jewish male should greet each day with the following benediction: "Blessed art Thou oh Lord, King of the Universe, who hath not made me a woman"..?

~WolfLady~

[Lynne Jacobson Arons]

01:43 PM on 08/27/2012

So the fact that they were glad not be women, but still understood that pregnancy happens and that it's not under the woman's control, so it was not her fault, doesn't show that FOR THE TIME THEY LIVED IN, they were actually progressive? And the fact that the rapist had to marry the woman AT THE TIME THEY LIVED IN was a protection for her. It made the man responsible for his actions.

[Ivo Dude]

04:47 PM on 08/22/2012

The "world goes on its way." I love this passage, which acknowledges randomness and condemns superstition.

This bit of "religion" can urge us to be more compassionate to those who are targets.

2000 years later we need this reminder.

Thank you Rabbi

[phal4875]

06:23 PM on 08/23/2012

Fanned. I also quoted a statement a few posts back: The universe does not care about us.

I am not sure if that is true.

[Ivo Dude]

09:43 AM on 08/24/2012

Maybe the Universe cares about us in a different way than we care about ourselves?

[JerryLevy]

04:22 PM on 08/22/2012

Now things are getting really absurd. This obscure Missouri congressman makes an outlandish and untrue observation on local radio about rape, is denounced by everyone in his own political party, he profusely apologizes, and leftists everywhere are jumping on board to make political points. No problem with Joe Biden suggesting conservatives want to enslave blacks, no problem with Sandra Fluke testifying at a congressional committee for taxpayer funded contraception (falsely saying that it costs up to $3K annually) and no problem with the Obama campaign accusing Romney of causing a woman to die from cancer. But this guy------woha, time to scream bloody murder. Rabbi, I hope most of the people will concentrate on the 8% unemployment, the out of control deficit that threatens our very economy, and the movement from an opportunity to an entitlement society. What does the Talmud say about that, sir?

[Jie Jones]

06:35 PM on 08/22/2012

Yet, but Ryan co-sponsored Akin's Personhood Bill and the Republican Party platform specifically supports a ban on abortion, even for cases of rape.

Sucks when you don't have the courage to stand up and fight for your convictions. Why aren't Ryan and Romney aren't out singing the praises of Akin....hypocrites.

[NotesFromME]

02:03 AM on 08/23/2012

Wow, did you get a single one of your assertions right? No, dead wrong. Biden DID not say conservatives want to enslave blacks--Romney wants to "unchain" the banks who gave us the worst financial meltdown since the 1930s, the BANKS would put us back in the chains of outrageous fees, etc. Sandra Fluke made the case solely that contraception has other medical purposes than preventing pregnancy. The Obama campaign DID NOT accuse Romney of causing a woman to die of cancer, she DIED OF CANCER. Romney, like many of ilk, stuffed his pockets with money to the detriment of thousands of American middle class workers, who lost their jobs and benefits as a result. No health insurance, no timely treatment, unnecessary death. He also robbed their pension funds, perhaps Obama should have run ads on that too. Th There are always horrific consequences to Republican actions, as much as they would love to duck their responsibility for what their self serving policies have done to the American middle class over the last thirty years.

Lies and distortions, it is all you have. That Missouri congressman is running for THE SENATE, and his views have plenty of support in the GOP. That is what matters. The GOP have been pushing this "legitimate" and "forcible" rape meme for years until it has finally become mainstream in an increasingly extreme political party that does not come close to representing the views of the American public.

[Lon]

04:12 PM on 08/22/2012

I think this is a reflection of the fact that the Talmud writers were trying to deal with the world, while Akin is getting his information from people who are trying to shoehorn reality into some ideology. The goal is very different.

[phal4875]

06:46 PM on 08/23/2012

It is good to know that Akin has finally abandoned the stork theory of delivering babies.

[Max Imus]

03:34 PM on 08/22/2012

Religions are so far out of touch with reality, just like most conservatives.