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From: meth@csd2.UUCP (Asher Meth)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Article about incest in net.religion.christian
Message-ID: <3780124@csd2.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 28-Jan-86 17:28:00 EST
Article-I.D.: csd2.3780124
Posted: Tue Jan 28 17:28:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Feb-86 10:39:39 EST
References: <453@mordred.purdue.UUCP>
Organization: New York University
Lines: 26


Steve Munson writes :
----------------------
     Someone in net.religion.christian asked the question
> Genesis 4 ... who were Cain and Seth's wives?
> Did God create them?
He was wondering, if incest was against the Law, why could Cain and Seth
do it?  
----------------------

The Talmud, Sanhedrin 58b, says : Why did Adam not marry his daughter ? So that
Kayin (Cain) would be able to marry his sister; as it says (Tehillim/Psalms
89:3) "Ki amarti olam chessed yibaneh" - for I said that the world is built on
kindness; in all other cases, such a union is forbidden.

RaSHI (R. Solomon ben Isaac, one of the "early" commentaries, circa late 1000's
to 1100's) comments on the pasuk (verse) in the portion of Acharei-Mos
(Vayikra/Leviticus 20:17) "and a man who takes his sister, daughter of his
father or of his mother ... it is a kindness (chessed)" - that which was
permitted to Kayin (to marry his sister) was a kindness I (G-d) granted to him.

i.e., The rules were suspended for Kayin, so that the world could continue to
function, for the purpose of the propagation of the human race. But the general
rule is that such acts are forbidden.

Asher Meth ....... meth@nyu-csd2.arpa ....... allegra!cmcl2!csd2!meth