(26) And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” (27) And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

(18) The LORD God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper for him.” (19) And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. (20) And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. (21) So the LORD God cast a deep sleep upon the man; and, while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that spot. (22) And the LORD God fashioned the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man. (23) Then the man said, “This one at last Is bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called Woman, For from man was she taken.”

(24) Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

(1) Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gained a male child with the help of the LORD.”

(13) You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: I the LORD am your God. (3) You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws. (4) My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws: I the LORD am your God. (5) You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD. (6) None of you shall come near anyone of his own flesh to uncover nakedness: I am the LORD. (7) Your father’s nakedness, that is, the nakedness of your mother, you shall not uncover; she is your mother—you shall not uncover her nakedness. (8) Do not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is the nakedness of your father. (9) The nakedness of your sister—your father’s daughter or your mother’s, whether born into the household or outside—do not uncover their nakedness. (10) The nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter—do not uncover their nakedness; for their nakedness is yours. (11) The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, who has born into your father’s household—she is your sister; do not uncover her nakedness. (12) Do not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. (13) Do not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister; for she is your mother’s flesh. (14) Do not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother: do not approach his wife; she is your aunt. (15) Do not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. (16) Do not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is the nakedness of your brother. (17) Do not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; nor shall you marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and uncover her nakedness: they are kindred; it is depravity. (18) Do not marry a woman as a rival to her sister and uncover her nakedness in the other’s lifetime. (19) Do not come near a woman during her period of uncleanness to uncover her nakedness. (20) Do not have carnal relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

(11) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (12) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: If any man’s wife has gone astray and broken faith with him (13) in that a man has had carnal relations with her unbeknown to her husband, and she keeps secret the fact that she has defiled herself without being forced, and there is no witness against her— (14) but a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself; or if a fit of jealousy comes over one and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself— (15) the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. No oil shall be poured upon it and no frankincense shall be laid on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing. (16) The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the LORD. (17) The priest shall take sacral water in an earthen vessel and, taking some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle, the priest shall put it into the water. (18) After he has made the woman stand before the LORD, the priest shall bare the woman’s head and place upon her hands the meal offering of remembrance, which is a meal offering of jealousy. And in the priest’s hands shall be the water of bitterness that induces the spell. (19) The priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no man has lain with you, if you have not gone astray in defilement while married to your husband, be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that induces the spell. (20) But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and have defiled yourself, if a man other than your husband has had carnal relations with you”— (21) here the priest shall administer the curse of adjuration to the woman, as the priest goes on to say to the woman—“may the LORD make you a curse and an imprecation among your people, as the LORD causes your thigh to sag and your belly to distend; (22) may this water that induces the spell enter your body, causing the belly to distend and the thigh to sag.” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!” (23) The priest shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness. (24) He is to make the woman drink the water of bitterness that induces the spell, so that the spell-inducing water may enter into her to bring on bitterness. (25) Then the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the meal offering of jealousy, elevate the meal offering before the LORD, and present it on the altar. (26) The priest shall scoop out of the meal offering a token part of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. Last, he shall make the woman drink the water. (27) Once he has made her drink the water—if she has defiled herself by breaking faith with her husband, the spell-inducing water shall enter into her to bring on bitterness, so that her belly shall distend and her thigh shall sag; and the woman shall become a curse among her people. (28) But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed. (29) This is the ritual in cases of jealousy, when a woman goes astray while married to her husband and defiles herself, (30) or when a fit of jealousy comes over a man and he is wrought up over his wife: the woman shall be made to stand before the LORD and the priest shall carry out all this ritual with her. (31) The man shall be clear of guilt; but that woman shall suffer for her guilt.

(1) The Song of Songs, by Solomon. (2) Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine. (3) Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, Your name is like finest oil— Therefore do maidens love you. (4) Draw me after you, let us run! The king has brought me to his chambers. Let us delight and rejoice in your love, Savoring it more than wine— Like new wine they love you!

(9) I have likened you, my darling, To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots: (10) Your cheeks are comely with plaited wreaths, Your neck with strings of jewels. (11) We will add wreaths of gold To your spangles of silver.

(12) While the king was on his couch, My nard gave forth its fragrance. (13) My beloved to me is a bag of myrrh Lodged between my breasts. (14) My beloved to me is a spray of henna blooms From the vineyards of En-gedi. (15) Ah, you are fair, my darling, Ah, you are fair, With your dove-like eyes! (16) And you, my beloved, are handsome, Beautiful indeed! Our couch is in a bower; (17) Cedars are the beams of our house, Cypresses the rafters.

Apropos the husband’s obligation to his wife regarding marital relations, the Gemara mentions other aspects of this issue: Students may leave their homes and travel in order to learn Torah without their wives’ permission for up to thirty days, and laborers may leave their homes without their wives’ permission for up to one week. The set interval defining the frequency of a husband’s conjugal obligation to his wife stated in the Torah (see Exodus 21:10), unless the couple stipulated otherwise, varies according to the man’s occupation and proximity to his home: Men of leisure, who do not work, must engage in marital relations every day, laborers must do so twice a week, donkey drivers once a week, camel drivers once every thirty days, and sailors once every six months. This is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer.

(10) If he marries another, he must not withhold from this one her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.

The Gemara cites another halakha derived from the verse mentioned in the previous discussion. Rami bar Ḥama said that Rav Asi said: It is prohibited for a man to force his wife in the conjugal mitzva, i.e., sexual relations, as it is stated: “And he who hastens with his feet sins” (Proverbs 19:2). The term his feet is understood here as a euphemism for intercourse.

Rav Yosef taught the following baraita: “She’era,” this is referring to closeness of flesh during intercourse, which teaches that he should not treat her in the manner of Persians, who have conjugal relations in their clothes. The Gemara comments: This baraita supports the opinion of Rav Huna, as Rav Huna said: With regard to one who says: I do not want to have intercourse with my wife unless I am in my clothes and she is in her clothes, he must divorce his wife and give her the payment for her marriage contract. This is in keeping with the opinion of the tanna of the baraita that the Torah mandates the intimacy of flesh during sexual relations.

Rabba bar Rav Huna says: One who came back from traveling on the road and engaged in sexual intercourse immediately has weak children conceived from those acts of intercourse. The Sages taught: With regard to one who comes in from the bathroom, he should not engage in sexual intercourse until he waits the measure of time it takes to walk half a mil because the demon of the bathroom accompanies him. And if he engaged in sexual intercourse without waiting this measure of time, he has children who are epileptic. The Sages taught: One who engages in sexual intercourse while standing will be afflicted by spasms. One who engages in sexual intercourse while sitting will be afflicted with dalarya.If she, the woman, is above and he, the husband, is below during sexual intercourse, then he will be afflicted with dalarya. The Gemara asks: What is dalarya? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The remedy for dalarya is dardara. The Gemara asks: What is dardara? Abaye said: Saffron of thorns. Rav Pappa would chew [aleis] and swallow this remedy. Rav Pappi would chew and spit it out.