<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><br>Vayikra 18:3 & 9: C'maaseh Mitzrayim asher y'shavtem-bah lo sasu.... Ervas achos'cha bas-avicha o bas-imecha<br>moledes bayis o moledes chutz lo s'galeh ervasan.<br><br>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<br>the house with you or outside of the house.<br><br><br>====<br>What is interesting about this is that there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians DID marry their sisters.<br>Census records document this fact. But, analysis suggests that the age differences were such that generally<br>the sisters were enough younger than the brothers they married that they didn't share a residence while growing up.<br><br>This is relevant to the Westermark effect: The fact that we are typically not sexually attracted to members of the<br>opposite sex (whether genetic relatives or not) who we lived with in childhood. This is true in non-Human animals, <br>and has been supported by research among humans, including the fact that children who grew up in child dormitories<br>of kibbutzim didn't usually marry children that shared the dorm with them. Also, in certain Asian royal families, the predetermined<br>bride would move to live with the husband to be at an early age. Marriages that had this arrangement produced fewer offspring<br>than those without this arrangement.<br><br>The Torah had to warn us against both because<br>our natural repulsion to incest doesn't necessarily include those moledes chutz.<br><br>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 <br>publication!<br><br>- Moed Tov,<br><br>Steve<br><br><br><br></div></body></html>