LEV730 Jewish Sexual Responsibility. Today, when casual partners hook up for sex with no apparent strings attached, it may seem naive even to talk of obligations to one another. Yet … questions … still trouble us: What do I have to tell my partner, and does it matter what kind of relationship we have? Jewish traditions emphasize duties, which in turn rest on timeless ideas about our relationships and responsibilities. I want to focus on two such Jewish principles. First, duties toward ourselves flow from the principle that our bodies and lives are the creation and property of the Divine. We do not own our selves, but rather hold and care for them as stewards or custodians. This is why, for example, many Jewish authorities across all denominations forbid smoking cigarettes, since we do not have the right to pollute and to put at grave risk what is not entirely ours. A literal understanding of the source of this duty may suggest a theology that some contemporary Jews do not share. Still, whatever one’s beliefs, the idea that we have a duty to care for and protect ourselves that goes beyond just doing what we want may still resonate. The second Jewish principle I want to highlight is the Golden Rule, first put forward in Leviticus 19:18: “Ve-ahavta l’re’ekha kamokha,” “Love your fellow as yourself.” This makes empathy an obligation and the chief engine of our duties to others. In our deliberations, we must show respect and consideration for others. We are required to put ourselves in the other’s shoes, to think and feel about the impact of our actions. But how should that impact count in our decision-making? And how much? Our specific duties to others derive from the details of our relationships. My obligations towards strangers, neighbors, friends, parents, children, and my spouse may differ in substance and urgency. And in the course of an evolving romantic or sexual relationship, my duties toward the other person also evolve. How then, should we understand these duties toward lovers and sexual partners? If we take the Ve-ahavta seriously, a good starting point might be this: At a minimum, I should treat my partner as I would wish to be treated. I ought, for example, to disclose as much information as I myself would want to have in order to make informed decisions. But this “informed consent” stance does not go far enough. Taken together, the demands of stewardship and empathy generate additional responsibilities--those of protecting and respecting myself and others. Beyond merely being truthful, I should act to avoid my partner’s suffering, even in circumstances in which the partner does not take responsibility for doing so him/herself. If a female partner yearns to go ahead with unprotected sex, it is still the male partner’s duty either to insist on contraception, or to limit activity to sexual acts that cannot get her pregnant. If a potential partner insists he or she does not mind taking the risk, an HIV-positive person likewise still has a duty to insist on using condoms, or to limit their sex to less risky activities. (By Jeffrey Burack)