Thinking Torah Blog

As you may know, the Torah uses strong language to address taboo sexual relationships. These prohibitions don’t emerge prominently until Leviticus, where the text makes clear with whom one may or may not engage in sexual relations. Many of these taboos focus on incestuous relationships, but others concern marrying members of different peoples. 

This makes it all the more curious that Moses’ birth stems from a marriage that would later be considered taboo in Israelite culture. In Exodus 6:20, we read: “Amram took to wife his father’s sister Yocheved, and she bore him Aaron and Moses…” Amram, Moses’ father, married his aunt, Yocheved—a union that even today many would regard as taboo.

A 13th-century French commentator, Chizkuni, reflects on this seemingly problematic lineage: “We do not appoint a person to the highest position in the land unless the people are aware of at least one inappropriate act—whether active or passive—that such a person has been guilty of before their appointment.” The idea is that when a leader’s flaws are known, they are less likely to see themselves as superior to others. 

Another famous example of an illicit relationship that produced a significant lineage is the story of Boaz and Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite, a member of a nation the Israelites were explicitly forbidden to marry into. Yet, from the union of Boaz and Ruth, we ultimately derive the line of King David.

I find this aspect of our tradition deeply comforting. Embedded in Jewish tradition is the recognition that the taboos of today can sometimes jeopardize the progress of tomorrow. At times—perhaps even all the time—transgressing taboos is necessary to move society forward. Seeing our taboos clearly and questioning them is challenging, but Judaism has a long and meaningful history of calling out and reevaluating taboos. Let’s hope we can continue to work toward a world with fewer restrictions that hold us back.