Rabbi Says Sleeping With the Enemy Is Okay For Israelis
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
“Valentine operatives,” “honey traps” and “honey pots” have devilishly sweet names for a reason: The phrases refer to those men and women who seduce enemy operatives to gain key information or facilitate their capture. And according to a new ruling by Rabbi Ari Shvat, sleeping with the enemy goes “above and beyond” and is a “spiritual blessing.” In other words: Go for it.
Shvat’s ruling appears in “Illicit sex for the sake of national security,” a study published by the Zomet Institute, a non-profit that studies the intersection of religion and secular life.
“The act of illicit sex with the enemy is almost always forbidden unless there is no other solution, and only after asking explicit religious permission from a leading halachic authority,” he told msnbc.com.
The guidelines are as complex as many modern love stories. Targeting unmarried operatives is, of course, preferred, Schvat wrote in his report, “but if there is no other choice but to use a married women… her husband should divorce her and marry her again after the fact.” If a man cannot divorce his wife before a mission, he must do so after; as YNet.com explains, “according to the Halacha she would have committed adultery — even if it was for the sake of a national cause.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
