Q&A: Er and Onan
Er and Onan
Question
In the Talmud, Yevamot 34b, it is explained according to the Sages that Er and Onan had intercourse in an atypical manner.
But this is difficult, since one cannot become pregnant from intercourse in that manner; if so, why was there a need to "spill it on the ground" (threshing inside and scattering outside)?
Answer
I don’t know. I don’t deal with aggadic literature or with biblical interpretation. Perhaps the Talmud interprets "spilling it on the ground" as intercourse in an atypical manner—that is, the semen goes to waste. Alternatively, perhaps "in an atypical manner" means onto the ground. I then saw again that the commentators on the verse there discuss this at length and write along both of these lines (see Paltiel, Hadar Zekenim, Moshav Zekenim, the Riva, and others). And Mizrachi there discusses it at length and writes that these are conflicting midrashim.