Q&A: Touching
Touching
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
After passages I read in the Talmud and after reading various articles, Maimonides, etc.,
what kind of touching is actually forbidden?
There is casual touching, there is affectionate closeness, and there is sexual intimacy.
Is a brief, ordinary touch such as a hug between friends or relatives (an aunt, a cousin, etc.) forbidden? In such touch there is no sexual intimacy at all, only closeness that does not lead to any forbidden sexual thoughts.
And Maimonides writes: one who hugs or kisses in a lustful way (sexual affection).
So is affectionate closeness also forbidden, or only sexual intimacy?
Answer
The picture in this topic is indeed quite unclear. As I understand it, only closeness that arouses sexual thoughts is forbidden.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t see a question here.
Sorry for butting in, Rabbi Michi. But it’s surprising to me to hear that this is unclear. After all, all the halakhic decisors interpret the prohibition as applying to any affectionate physical contact, including even a light hug or a touch on the shoulder, even with an elderly woman, for example, toward whom there is no sexual attraction—at least on the rabbinic level. Only some permit it in cases of touch for medical treatment or a polite handshake?