Sex With a Girl Under Three in Jewish Law: "It is Nothing"
This is a quote that anti-Semites often "dig up" and present to those
unfamiliar with Jewish Law as "proof" that Jewish Law condones
pedophilia:
Kethuboth 11b : "When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little
girl it is nothing."
The subject of discussion is the marital property rights of virgins
vs. non-virgins.
Virgins have greater entitlements. The rabbis discussed the
hypothetical case of a girl raped at an age less than three years old
- for the purposes of her rights at marriage, is she considered a
virgin or a non-virgin?
The answer is that she is considered a virgin. The quotation is out
of context - _for the purposes of determining her rights, if a girl
less than three has sex with a man, it is nothing. The phrase "it is
nothing" is a common Talmudic idiom meaning "it has no bearing on the
matter under discussion" (in this case, her property rights at
marriage). It does NOT mean "it is perfectly acceptable."
http://tinyurl.com/3458u8
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
