H7
We are not to castrate a male human being other than for medical necessity.
Category: Godliness, Holiness & Righteousness
Type: Negative
Form: Implied
Source dataset: Old Testament
Uniqueness: Not unique
Classical commandment: Yes
New Covenant Literal Application
Applies to Person Categories: Not specified
Literal Application: Not specified
More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application
The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.
It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.
This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.
Bible references
Key OT Scriptures
-
Leviticus 22:24
Supportive OT Scriptures
-
Deuteronomy 23:2
-
Leviticus 21:17-23
Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent
Commentary
Rabbi Michael Rudolph
Castration is removing or doing irreparable damage to a male's testicles. There is no specific commandment in Scripture prohibiting the castration of human beings or animals, but we surmise it with regard to men from the Scriptures cited that impute holiness-connected disabilities to castrated men and beasts. Castrated men were prohibited from entering the assembly of the Lord and could not serve as priests, and castrated animals could not be used for sacrifice in the Temple. So far as I am aware, men-slaves are no longer castrated to produce eunuchs for guarding harams or young boys castrated to preserve their soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto voices. Nevertheless, our society does neuter male animals to change their behavior, their size, or their tenderness when used for food. For example, steer meat comes from a castrated bull, a capon "chicken" is a castrated rooster, and an ox is a steer that has been bred for work. Castrating animals or fowls does not appear to prohibit their being considered kosher for food. Castration of men is occasionally done for medical reasons (e.g. cancer), and our various societies have, on occasion, castrated especially sex offenders as part of a punitive process.
Classical commentators
Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch state that Leviticus 22:24 (despite it not saying so) prohibits castrating a male of any species whatsoever. Also, Maimonides and HaChinuch (not Meir) reference Leviticus 2:11 and Leviticus 6:10(17) , neither of which seem to have relevance to the subject of castration.
Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2
Classical sources
Maimonides
Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.
Meir of Rothenburg
Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.
MN143
Source and License
Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.
License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0
Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.
Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2
Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2