a ritual pool to spiritually cleanse herself. This is so important to Jewish life that a community is more likely to first build a mikvah, then to build a synagogue (http://www.us-israel.org). There are many controversies involving Jewish views on birth control. Only some methods that do not block the path of the sperm are permitted because this is considered wasting seed (http://www.us-israel.org). Hormonal methods such as the pill are acceptable as long as the requirement of having at least two children is fulfilled. Concerning abortion, Jewish law states that an unborn child has the status of potential human life and may not be destroyed casually. However, this potential human life is not as important as the mothers life and if the fetus in any way puts the mothers life in jeopardy, then it may be removed from her body (http://www.us-israel.org). Masturbation is prohibited under Jewish law. In the same sense, when a man masturbates it is seen as him wasting his seed. One passage in Jewish law says, In the case of a man, the hand that reaches below the navel should be chopped off. Judaism also looks down upon female masturbation as impure thoughts (http://www.us-israel.org). DivorceAlong with intermarriage, divorce is looked at as a betrayal of family values. When Jewish parents have a child that divorces, the parents often take it more personally than the child does. Recently, the Jewish divorce rate has increased to that of the general population consisting of various ethnic groups. In order to get a divorce couples are expected to arrange for a writ of Jewish divorce (a get) along with a civil divorce. Unfortunately, traditional Jewish law prohibits women from obtaining a get. This creates more problems for divorcing couples. Another problem for divorcing couples is that traditional Judaism is practiced through gender specific roles. At the end of a marriage these roles are severed and the man and the woman often ex...
