GEN308 The attitude of Judaism toward sex well illustrates its idea of sanctity. Condemning both libertinism and morbid asceticism, it does not regard the sex instinct as an evil. Only when abused and debased as an instrument of lust and vice, does it lead to human corruption and degradation. As the natural means for the preservation of the race, it has the benediction of the Torah. Marriage is treated not as a mere concession to the flesh, (Cf. Paul’s view in 1 Corinthians 7:1ff) but as a divinely established institution [this verse]. The command, “Increase, multiply, and fill the earth” Genesis 1:28 was construed by the rabbis as the first of the 613 Pentateuchal commandments.  While the chief aim of marriage is procreation of offspring, sexual gratification was likewise recognized as one of its aims. Woman was to be not merely a child-bearer but also a sex-partner. Far from enjoining abstention from legitimate cohabitation, the Halachah orders both the man and wife to respect each other’s conjugal rights. However, sanity and consideration must characterize the relations. Hilchut Ishut 14 The highest interest of the race demand that the wellsprings of life be kept pure and undefiled. Hence Judaism sanctions sexual relations only between husband and wife. Any other form of sex experience constitutes Zenut, lewdness or immorality. Irregular relationships unsettled the foundations of the family and of the social order. Prostitution, in particular, menaces human well-being. Aside from its danger to health, its unfortunate victims are reduced to the status of slaves, serving as the mere tools of lust. COHON 163-4