The Movement for Reform Judaism

Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain, Chairman of the Assembly of Rabbis and Rabbi of Maidenhead Synagogue is a respected writer and broadcaster, frequently asked to comment on news issues on radio and television. In this fortnightly feature he addresses your concerns, giving responses to modern issues and queries.

This week's question: The government is trying to develop strategies to tackle prostitution. What is the Jewish attitude to permitting brothels?

Being "the oldest profession", prostitutes feature as far back as Genesis, when Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, is raped by a local prince. Her brothers kill him in revenge, and when Jacob protests, they say "Should such a person be allowed to deal with our sister as one deals with a prostitute ?" (34. 31) - reflecting both their prevalence and the dangers they faced. Shortly afterwards there is another telling episode - Judah, one of the very brothers who had condemned the way Dinah had been treated as a prostitute, goes to visit one himself - not unlike those today who condemn the trade in public but still utilise it for themselves in private. Another "then and now" aspect is that after having relations with the prostitute, Judah is worried that it might become public knowledge and a source of embarrassment; so the government proposal to step up the public naming and shaming campaign against men who kerb crawl, may prove to be a powerful deterrent.

Leviticus duly warns the Israelites not to let their daughters become prostitutes (19. 29). It also lays down that the punishment for a married woman who worked as a prostitute is burning - which suggested a society, not too removed from now, in which men take advantage of women and then condemn the women for male urges. Still, Deuteronomy also warns against letting your sons become male prostitutes (23. 18), indicating that the rent-boys of our time have an equally ancient lineage.

The Bible recognises that some prostitutes have a heart of gold shining out of their stockings. Rahab was a prostitute working in Jericho, who gave protection to the two spies whom Joshua sent to reconnoitre the city before he attacked it. There were the two prostitutes who appeared before Solomon, both claiming to be the mother of a new-born baby and accusing each other of having had a still-birth and swapping the children. The story is primarily about Solomon's wisdom in settling the argument - but the side theme is the prostitutes themselves, each as desperate as any other woman to have a child, and with the real mother having such strong maternal feelings that she prefers to give up her child rather than have it cut in two.

Fast forward to today, and although a high percentage of prostitutes are forced into it to pay for drugs or illegal immigration, others are mothers who use the trade as a way of making ends meet whilst bringing up a family by themselves. Solomon sorted out the child, but said nothing about his mother's occupation. With so little changing in human nature over the millennia , the government is probably right not to try to eradicate prostitution, but instead ensure it is as safe and crime free as possible. If that includes permitting mini-brothels, or even full-scale ones, then religious protests against "immorality" should be put aside, recognising that condemnation has not made any difference and that regulation might achieve more.

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