How would you go about compiling such a list?

Or it could even be that just the Breslov interpretation of this issue — well-known in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish world to be the most radical — is wrong.

Right, Ronen?

I’ll stick to my timid or what I believe to be G-d fearing ways.

Jeff – It could be all the rabbis are wrong. It could be the Torah was made by man. But I’m betting the other way in life.

Thank you for this interesting dialogue and again much success and blessing in all your future endeavors.

Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so he put him to death also.

The explanation you were given is something the rabbis just made up.

Look, if it gives you a sense of meaning and purpose to invest these men with that kind of authority over your life, that’s your business. Most Jews will never agree with you – not because we’re stumbling about blindly in the dark, but simply because we think they’re wrong.

Ask David — he’ll teach you how to masturbate.

He taught me.

Here is the exact quote:

סעיף א
אסור להוציא זרע לבטלה. ועון זה חמור מכל עברות שבתורה

Loose translation: The prohibition against wasteful emission of semen. And this transgression is more serious than all the transgressions in the Torah.

Now his book was an attempt to give us halacha le’maseh. And I think he does an excellent job. When he was writing it, he got a lot of mussar saying it might discourage people from learning the original text, but it doesn’t seem that happened.

Anyway, it’s not really about the punishment here. It’s more about the simple fact that this is the number one thing men desire to do with their bodies and this is what Hashem wants us not to do.

Remember, in the Torah, someone is put to a premature death because of this (Onen, I believe. Some guy had a really beautiful wife and he didn’t want to disfigure her beauty via pregnancy. So he would withdraw and spill his seed. Hashem kills him for this. That’s pretty serious, right?).

I try not to make such a big deal out of this because most people have a hard enough time dealing with loshon hora and senseless love of all Jews and all of G-d’s creation in general. But to say this doesn’t have its sources is a little off, in my opinion.

And to Jeff – this is one of my best friend’s complaints – both that his life is too difficult anyway and that Hashem doesn’t really deserve praise.

On the first point, I agree. On the second, because I choose to define Hashem as He who creates all, He is the only entity worth praising at all as all other entities owe their existence to Him alone.

EV – even if you could make the orgasm last say 10 seconds, which I would say would be a scientific first, how would this change the Torah’s harsh words?

Hey look, I just realized what type of site this is and I’m sorry for responding in such depth (not that I said a lot, but I’m guessing most people feel this thread probably shouldn’t have been here in the first place and at this point has taken too much space).

But, I do like the sense of humor found here.

May G-d Almighty bless each and everyone of you in all that you do.