Jewish traditions across different eras and regions devote considerable attention to sexuality. In Judaism, sexuality is viewed as having both positive and negative potential, depending on the context in which it is expressed. Sexual activity has traditionally often been viewed as a grave sin if it is outside of the bounds of permissible behavior. On the other hand, many sources express a positive attitude towards sex between a married couple, also within same-sex marriages according to Reconstructionist , Humanistic , and Reform Judaism , and to a certain degree Conservative Judaism.
According to medieval Rabbinical enumerations of the commandments , the commandment to procreate Genesis is the first mitzvah in the Torah. There is another Torah commandment known as onah which obligates a man to provide pleasurable sexual intercourse to his wife on a regular basis if she desires it , even if they have already had children, or are incapable of having children.
Deuteronomy requires a man who has been married within the last year to "gladden" his wife at home, rather than joining the army to fight in a war which is ongoing. In later Jewish tradition, this is understood as a general requirement for every husband to stay at home with his wife for the first year of marriage, and for them to "rejoice" together. Maimonides permits a married couple to engage in nearly any form of sexual activity:.
A man's wife is permitted to him. Therefore, a man may do whatever he desires with his wife. He may engage in relations whenever he desires, kiss any organ he desires, engage in vaginal or other intercourse, or engage in physical intimacy without relations, provided he does not release seed in vain.
In many sources, it is recommended that husband and wife have sex on Shabbat. Often, this is said to be related to the obligation to delight in the Sabbath. Any emission of semen by a man makes him ritually impure , and if this occurs during sex with a woman, she too becomes ritually impure.
