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woman and it will not go to waste, this does help in regard to the
prohibition of “lo sin’af ” by hand [i.e. the method of its emission].

The Divrei Malkiel’s view (4, 107-8) that artificial insemination
is forbidden because at the time of the emission the semen is being
emitted wastefully [i.e. not as an act of intercourse], is well known.
Furthermore, multiple emissions may be necessary. When a man has
normal marital relations with his wife this is not a problem, even if
she doesn’t become pregnant. However, when the sperm is emitted
into a test tube and then inserted into the woman’s womb we must be
certain that fertilization takes place and pregnancy ensues, otherwise
the emission will have been for naught. We have been command-
ed to fulfill the mitzvah of procreation in the normal manner, not
through sophistication. This is what the Rav Pe’alim (3, Even Ha’ezer,
2) writes: “This is what the King – the King of the world – has laid
down: that a man should only deposit his seed in the specific place for
it- within his wife.” However, in his response, the Maharsham (3, 268)
is inclined to rule leniently, taking the view that this is not considered
wasting semen since it is being done for a constructive purpose.2

Furthermore, it is highly uncertain whether or not the child will be
considered its father’s offspring according to the view of the Chelkas
Mechokek (1,8) who expresses uncertainty over whether a child
conceived in a bathtub [i.e. a man emitted semen while washing in a
bathtub and a woman who washed there after him was impregnated
by his sperm] follows its father’s lineage. In the view of the Chasdei
David (Tosefta Yevamos, 8, end of 1), it is clear that the husband’s
emission is considered wasteful since the child resulting child does
not follow his lineage.

While all this refers to artificial insemination when the man’s se-
men is ultimately introduced into his wife’s uterus, the argument that

2. See our discussion of this topic earlier, in siman 251, where we quote the com-
ments of the Maharsham and the Divrei Malkiel regarding emitting semen for
the purpose of medical testing and discuss their opinions at length. For further
discussion of the severity of the prohibition of the wasteful emission of semen,
even for the purpose of insemination, see earlier, simanim 255 and 258.

102 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein