Contemporary Formulations
The prohibition has been further elaborated on by many contemporary halakhic authorities. For example, negiah is the subject of a series of four important responsa by Moshe Feinstein (1959).
Feinstein elaborates the two prohibitions underlying the laws of negiah. The first law is derived from a Biblical prohibition against close contact (קרב qarab) with arayot, as described above. Because all women above the age of 11 are presumed to fall into the category of illicit relationships due to menstruation, it follows that the negiah prohibition extends to all women above that age, not only to the other illicit relationships prohibited by the biblical text. The second derives from the notion of hirhur, a prohibition against having inappropriate sexual thoughts. Feinstein prohibits such acts as hugging, kissing, and holding hands. With regard to shaking hands, see below.
Like most laws, these prohibitions are waived to save a person who is in life-threatening danger, e.g. for a man to save a woman from drowning. In such cases, the prohibitions are waived even if the male rescuer is certain that he will experience improper thoughts (Hirhur). Furthermore, medical practitioners and other professionals such as hairdressers may touch members of the opposite sex in the course of their professional practice.
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