Jewish law strictly prohibits male masturbation. Female masturbation is a matter of less clarity, but it is also frowned upon.Recent researches however reveal that both men and women resort to masturbation not only as a way to derive sexual pleasure but also as a defensive behavior.The following are the important causes identified to explain unusual masturbation: no opportunity to engage in normal coitus,easy mechanism of sexual satisfaction especially for unmarried,flooding the mind with sexual fantasies,reading or watching sexually exciting materials,prolonged loneliness,unresolved emotional conflicts,inability to cope with stress of abnormal or normal nature,voluntary or involuntary manipulation of genitals,constant exposure to nude or provocative pictures of opposite sex,exposure to the stimulating and erotic body zones of the opposite sex,physical separation of lovers, sleeplessness at night, feeling of rejection and and depression,lack of openness in relationships,the thinking and the feeling that masturbation is normal and it is practiced by everyone and everywhere,Frequent talk about the opposite sex,Fear of sexuality accompanied wrong sex education and uncontrollable stimulation.