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been contracted in error. If she can obtain a get though, every possible
means should be tried in order to obtain a kosher get from him. For
if he is not steeped in homosexuality but is occasionally overcome by
lust, this should perhaps not be considered an erroneously contracted
marriage, though even on account of a single occasion he is regarded
as utterly wicked. If though he is so caught up in it that he enjoys
having relations with a man more than with a woman, the marriage
was certainly erroneously contracted. If the cause of his being steeped
in homosexuality is some kind of folly -- for it is unnatural behavior
– it is certainly a blemish, for if it is folly he is liable to engage in other
types of foolish conduct, however in reality the practice of homosex-
uality stems from wickedness and degradation, which also render the
marriage erroneously entered into.”

We learn from these comments that although the Igros Moshe first
entertained the possibility that homosexual conduct arises from folly
[i.e. it is a mental rather than a moral failing], he concludes that it
is rooted in wickedness and degradation and that the marriage was
nevertheless erroneously contracted, because this vice is a terrible
embarrassment for the family and all the more so for his wife, thus
rendering the creation of the marriage bond an error. He is therefore
certainly required to inform any prospective candidate for marriage
of his situation2.

We actually find several approaches in Chazal’s teachings to ex-
plaining homosexual tendencies: 1. intentional wickedness; 2. the
desire to breach the bounds of morality; 3. a consequence of being
steeped in lechery with women. What they all have in common is the
element of wickedness and disgusting lust, rather than some kind of
uncontrollable natural proclivity, as we shall now see:

The Torah says,“And a man who lies with a male in the manner of
women; to’evah asu shneyhem, they have both committed an abomina-
tion; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (Va-
yikra 20:13). The gemara (Nedarim 51a) explains that the word to’evah,

2. For further discussion of revealing information to a prospective spouse and the
definition of a major blemish, see earlier simanim 69-70.

330 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein