Q&A: Wasting Seed
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Wasting Seed
Question
Is there any practical difference if wasting seed is the gravest transgression in the entire Torah? Why did the Beit Yosef write this in the Shulchan Arukh?
Answer
The Shulchan Arukh does not write only things that have practical implications. There is certainly value in knowing the severity of a transgression. I’ll only add that, as is well known, this determination is by no means agreed upon.
Discussion on Answer
Perfectly fine. To each his own areas of interest. But I refer you to Rabbi Yosef Karo’s website, who will surely be happy to answer you. Here people are supposed to ask me and not him (it seems that, alas, I have not yet merited having him as a surfer on the site).
P.S. I’m not interested in what you rely on; in my opinion, the words of the Shulchan Arukh are themselves the essence of Torah, and that is what I study in depth.