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Where does the Torah say masturbation is a sin?

by Rabbi Shlomo Chein




Genesis 38:7-10 “Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the eyes of the Lord… Now onan knew that the progeny would not be his, and it came about, when he came to his [deceased] brother's wife, he wasted [his semen] on the ground... Now what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord..."

Rashi (based on the Talmud1) comments about Er: “His evil was like the evil of Onan, viz. that he wasted his semen... Now, why would Er waste his semen? So that she (Tamar) would not become pregnant and her beauty be impaired".2


  • 1. Tractate Yevamot 34b
  • 2. For more information about the prohibition to spill seed, see in paragraph 13


The halachic status of the next of kin to the deceased from the time of passing until after the burial.