עברית
Faith
How Does Rambam Justify the Permissibility of Intercourse with a Girl Under the Age of Three?
Question
How does Rambam justify the permissibility of intercourse with a girl under the age of three?
From the age of three years and one day, a person can betroth her through intercourse so that she will be his wife. According to Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Laws of Marriage, Chapter 3, Halacha 15: "If she is three years and one day old, she betroths through intercourse with the knowledge of her father; if she is younger, if her father betrothed her through intercourse, she is not betrothed." It is possible to betroth a girl of three years and one day through sexual relations, provided her father's consent is obtained. Below this age, she cannot be betrothed through intercourse, even if her father approved (but she can still be betrothed through a written contract or money, as mentioned).
Answer
Shalom u'vracha,
Quotations of this type are cited by anti-Jewish critics who search fervently for ways to distort the holy Torah and to seek wicked blood libels within it.
First of all, the quotation in question does not present a practical Halacha, as Rambam explicitly states that one does not betroth through intercourse today. Anyone who betroths through intercourse is lashed with lashes of rebellion, which is a decree from the days of the Sages. Thus, even a grown woman cannot be betrothed through intercourse. Rambam speaks here from a theoretical standpoint only, not a practical one.
Opponents of religion have distorted what has been said and claimed from this that according to Judaism, it is permissible for a man to have sexual relations with an infant. However, such claims have no basis, and there is no Halacha that permits such behavior. In fact, the Torah explicitly prohibits all forms of prostitution, especially that which is practiced against minors: "Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, lest the land become debased, and the land be filled with depravity." It is known that when such wrongdoings occurred, the pedophile was executed or excommunicated by the Jewish community.
The Maggid Mishneh explained Rambam's words in that place (Chapter 1, Halachot 11 and 14) and wrote that in any type of relationship between an adult and a minor, the adult is lashed with lashes of rebellion. And so Rambam himself wrote regarding same-sex relations (Halacha 15). Therefore, the intention behind the word "exempt" is not that pedophiles are exempt from punishment by the court, but rather that they are exempt from one of the punishments of the Torah relating to the benefit derived from the relationship (because engaging in such sexual relations does not provide physical pleasure). However, it is undoubtedly clear that anyone committing such an abomination is punished with lashes of rebellion that could even lead to death.
With blessings,
Daniel Bliss
