[Avodah] ... moledes bayis o moledes chutz...

[shalomyitz at comcast.net]

Vayikra 18:3 & 9: C'maaseh Mitzrayim asher y'shavtem-bah lo sasu.... Ervas achos'cha bas-avicha o bas-imecha 
moledes bayis o moledes chutz lo s'galeh ervasan. 

Ibn Ezra (paraphrasing... I don't have it in front of me, but I saw it on Shabbos): ... Yesh omrim: That she grew up in 
the house with you or outside of the house. 


==== 
What is interesting about this is that there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians DID marry their sisters. 
Census records document this fact. But, analysis suggests that the age differences were such that generally 
the sisters were enough younger than the brothers they married that they didn't share a residence while growing up. 

This is relevant to the Westermark effect: The fact that we are typically not sexually attracted to members of the 
opposite sex (whether genetic relatives or not) who we lived with in childhood. This is true in non-Human animals, 
and has been supported by research among humans, including the fact that children who grew up in child dormitories 
of kibbutzim didn't usually marry children that shared the dorm with them. Also, in certain Asian royal families, the predetermined 
bride would move to live with the husband to be at an early age. Marriages that had this arrangement produced fewer offspring 
than those without this arrangement. 

The Torah had to warn us against both because 
our natural repulsion to incest doesn't necessarily include those moledes chutz. 

I love it when my work and Torah come together. I love that I'm going to be able to quote Ibn Ezra in a Psychological 
publication! 

- Moed Tov, 

Steve 



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