In introducing forbidden sexual relations, the Torah commands the Jewish people to refrain from engaging in “the practices of the land of Egypt…and the practices of the land of Canaan” (Leviticus 18:3). The Sages explain that this does not mean one should refrain from every practice the Egyptians and Canaanites engaged in, but rather from the statutes that were uniquely theirs.

The verse states: “You shall not do the practices of the land of Egypt…and the practices of the land of Canaan” (18:3). Could it be that the Israelites shall not build buildings and plant saplings as the Egyptians and Canaanites did? The verse states: “And you shall not follow their statutes” (18:3) – I spoke only concerning the statutes that were legislated uniquely for them, and for their fathers, and for their ancestors. What would they do? A man would marry a man, and a woman would marry a woman; a man would marry a woman and her daughter, and a woman would marry two men. Concerning this it is stated: “And you shall not follow their statutes.” (Sifra, Aharei Mot 8)