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Member
Total Posts 97
Joined 2005-10-09
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Dating? Of course. How else are you supposed to get to know your future spouse?
Physical contact? No. Orthodox Judaism does not permit physical contact outside of the context of marriage (excepting for relatives, and possibly completely non-sexual contact, such as a handshake) between the sexes.
How are you supposed to get married without having physical contact before marriage?
Observant Jews have been doing it for millenia, evidently it is quite possible. This type of behavior may strike you as strange, particularly in today’s society, but it is really quite logical. A successful marriage is primarily built upon the compatibility between the personalities of the two people. The compatibility of two personalities is something that needs to be “tested” before marriage. Kissing ability is not. A person can read a one-page how-to article about kissing and become an expert kisser. Personalities, unfortunately, don’t work that way.
Focusing on the physical aspect of the relationship while dating can easily lead a person away from focusing on the important things, namely personality, religious beliefs, and plans for the future, to name a few.
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