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PARASHAT KEDOSHIM
"Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot,
lest the land fall to harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness."
(Vayikra 19:29) According to Rashi, based on Sanhedrin 76a this
verse refers to a person who hands his unmarried daughter over to
have intimate relations not for the sake of marriage. Hirsch adds
that according to Torat Cohanim this prohibition applies to every
extra-marital and pre-marital intercourse. Similarly, Aryeh Kaplan
explains in Waters of Eden that according to the Torah's definition,
harlotry includes all forms of premarital sex, and has nothing to
do with payment for the act. Thus, any couple engaged in premarital
intercourse is violating this commandment. Parshat Kedoshim describes the special laws which preserve the
holiness of the Jewish people and through which they distinguish
themselves from the rest of the nations. The prohibition against
premarital sex undoubtedly differs from what is accepted in modern
secular circles. Even among certain singles who considers themselves
modern-orthodox it has become accepted practice to succumb to the
temptation of the western standards of accepted social behavior
in this respect. People might defend themselves saying "We
are no longer youngsters, and we need to have a life." Wanting
to enjoy the pleasures of life, they rationalize that they must
"try out" their partner before being ready to commit themselves
to marriage. This attitude stands in sharp contrast with the holiness,
which G-d expects of His chosen people. Actually the word "holy"
itself is related to separateness. The first the word "holy"
is used is when G-d sets aside the Shabbat from the other six days
and sanctified it. Therefore, living a holy life implies being able
to keep apart in spite of the appeal which the loose life entails.
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