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Sex Within Marriage and Evil Inclination - Printable Version

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Sex Within Marriage and Evil Inclination - Red Bird - 03-28-2017

The first book of Tanya repeatedly discusses the obligation for a person to overcome his evil inclination, whether it is for food or for sexual desire. However, how is sexual relations sanctified upon two people getting married? If a man is to have intercourse with his wife, is he not still arousing his lust, thus empowering the evil inclination? How does one ever hope to become righteous, if he should have that as his goal, when the Torah commands him to take on the obligation to please his wife?


RE: Sex Within Marriage and Evil Inclination - Director Michael - 04-07-2017

The material in the first book of Tanya applies only to Jews, so it is misguided to try to apply it to Gentiles in the same way. Therefore, explaining how its advice and directives can be put into practice (by Jews) is beyond the scope of this Forum on "Living the Seven [Noahide] Commandments."

Sexual relations are sanctified for a Gentile man and woman within their marriage, if the couple is fulfilling G-d's explicit directive in Genesis 2:24: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh." "Becoming one flesh" means having children together, for which purpose G-d instilled in people a desire for sexual relations. If it were not for that G'd-given desire, hardly anyone would have children, and the human race would dwindle, G-d forbid, instead of settling and civilizing the world, as G-d desires. He informed us about this through His prophet Isaiah (45:18): "…the Creator of Heaven, Who is G-d, Who formed the earth and made it – He established it; He did not create it for emptiness, He formed it to be inhabited…"

G-d desires that this bearing of children should preferably be within the context of proper marriage, so there is a benefit to strengthening the existence of proper marriage in general, and the marriage bond itself between a husband and wife. Therefore, marital relations also have a benefit in and of themselves, even if they aren't conducted with the possibility of conception, because they contribute to maintaining and enhancing the marriage bond, and especially in regard to maintaining and enhancing the emotion of mutual love within the marriage bond. So this is also good, but it is even better if it is also done for the sake of childbearing.

On the other hand, if one engages in marital relations purely for the sake one's own selfish lust and self-satisfaction, with no consideration for bonding with or pleasing one's spouse (e.g., in the same manner that a man would hire and have incidental relations with a prostitute, just to satisfy his own lust), that is misuse and degradation of the ability that G-d bestowed to the person. That would be truly giving one's self over fully to the evil inclination, without having a higher, Divinely-sanctioned purpose in mind.

A Gentile is considered to be righteous in G-d's eyes if he/she is careful to observe all of the 7 Noahide Commandments.
There is also a higher level, called "pious." Both of these are explained in depth, in the new book, "Seven Gates of Righteous Knowledge: Spiritual Knowledge and Faith for the Noahide Movement and All Righteous Gentiles"
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Gates-Righteous-Knowledge-Compendium-ebook/dp/B06XYLMHV2/