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Rabbi: Masturbation is forbidden according to Jewish law1
CRAIG: Why?
Rabbi: Kabbalah is very explicit about the negative spiritual side-effects of masturbation. The idea is as follows: Your seed is the material by which you procreate; it is the genetic material within you that allows you the opportunity to partner with G-d.
When we let human seed go to waste, we squander G-d’s sacred and divine potential
Rabbi: When we use it constructively, we channel the Divine sparks and energy within it correctly, and it comes to good use within the world via children who in turn will produce more children, in this way continuing the path of humanity. When we let it go to waste, however, we squander G-d’s sacred and divine potential. (This allows for what Kabbalah calls “Chitzonim,” negative forces loosely translated as “outsiders,” to snatch the energy and convert it for negative purposes.)
[Ed. note: Also read "Where does the Torah say masturbation is a sin?"]
Footnotes
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Editor's Comment
1. The "waste" of the woman's egg is part of nature, not her own doing.
2. Female masturbation is not expressly forbidden by Jewish Law.
1. There is no difference between a married person and a bachelor with regards to masturbation.
2. See "How do I control my desire to masturbate?"
