AFAIK the only days a religious Jewish couple should not have sex would be during the woman’s menstrual period and on Yom Kippur.
There may also be some restrictions during pregnancy and post-natal time but I’m not familiar with those.
Add to that Tisha B’Av and the week after her menstrual period until she goes to the Mikvah.
During pregnancy there are no restrictions as long as there is no bleeding. Post-natally, the couple must abstain until a week after she stops bleeding and goes to the Mikvah.
Zev Steinhardt
This story made an appearance on a morning radio show just this week. A guy claiming to be Orthodox called in and confirmed “it was only true for Chasidim, not for all Orthodox.” Not that I’m saying it’s true, but it’s interesting that the Snopes article doesn’t mention Chasidim specifically. Unfortunately, I couldn’t call in before they signed off, so another battle lost to ignorance. 
I’m not Chassidic, nor do I ask anyone what goes on in the bedrooms of the Chassidim that I do know, so I can’t state this with 100% certainty; but I have my doubts as to the accuracy of that as well.
Zev Steinhardt
No. Although President Clinton taught at the University of Arkansas and rooted for the team, he did not matriculate there.
–Cliffy
P.S. 
No, you weren’t the only one. 
I haven’t found a site with this in list form, but here’s the tractate of Talmud that those requirements are mentioned in.
I think about this a lot, too. Haven’t seen anything that tries to come up with modern equivalents, though.
It’s in the Talmud, so you won’t find it even in a proper Torah.
How did this thread get this far without the use of the little happy Jewish smilie?
;j ;j ;j
There, that’s better.
Back when I lived with my parents, I noticed a new book on our shelves Boychiks In The Hood-Travels In The Chasidic Underground. I flipped through it and found a section adressing the sheet myth. The author asks if it’s true and what their attitudes about sex are. The men, a few of whom are rabbis, deny that the myth has any truth to it. One says “Our business is to give our wives pleasure!”
I’ve heard the “sex through a hole in the sheet” story in connection with Mormons as well.
So I don’t think it’s an exclusively “Orthodox Jew” stereotype.
Well, a teamster would likely be the modern equivalent of an ass-driver. The rule estimates how often and for how long the husband’s job is likely to keep him away from home. For most modern desk professions, that’s likely to be not at all.
One of the points of that passage of Talmud is that if a husband changes occupations from one that would keep him home (and her sexually satisfied) more to one that would be less to this advantage of hers, it is grounds for divorce.
I seem to recall hearing long ago that this was suggested for Catholics by Saint Augustine. No idea if that’s true, of course.
I’ve heard this rumor about Catholics and it was played up in the movie Like Water for Chocolate. I think it’s one of those convenient hey-look-at-the-weirdoes things to say about any despised group.
Hum, I’ve never heard that one (about anybody, actually); I thought by now I’d run into most of the silly stories about us.
That tracate of Talmud is discussing Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch), Chapter CL, para. 7.
Thanks, zev, and adirondack_mike too. I also thought it sounded fishy. I’ve heard the myth from many sources, but a friend of mine in the Navy, a Jew, insisted it were true.
Very Funny, Joe (from Brooklyn, I shudda known). :rolleyes:
If there’s one stereotype about Jews that’s warranted, it’s their love of a joke. 
As this “fallen” catholic remembers it, catholic sex is also for fun and enjoyment, but sometimes children are a wonderful blessing that comes (oops!) out of all this frolicking, and shouldn’t be avoided.
Do they still have “The Rhythm Method?”
But yes, doing oneself is a big no-no.
Ihere’s something in this reply that has piqued a long-held curiosity of mine, but I’ll start another thread rather than sidetrack this one.