The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism

In this unique collection of essays, some of today's smartest Jewish thinkers explore a broad range of fundamental questions in an effort to balance ancient tradition and modern sexuality.

In the last few decades a number of factors—post-modernism, feminism, queer liberation, and more—have brought discussion of sexuality to the fore, and with it a whole new set of questions that challenge time-honored traditions and ways of thinking. For Jews of all backgrounds, this has often led to an unhappy standoff between tradition and sexual empowerment.

Yet as The Passionate Torah illustrates, it is of critical importance to see beyond this apparent conflict if Jews are to embrace both their religious beliefs and their sexuality. With incisive essays from contemporary rabbis, scholars, thinkers, and writers, this collection not only surveys the challenges that sexuality poses to Jewish belief, but also offers fresh new perspectives and insights on the changing place of sexuality within Jewish theology—and Jewish lives. Covering topics such as monogamy, inter-faith relationships, reproductive technology, homosexuality, and a host of other hot-button issues, these writings consider how contemporary Jews can engage themselves, their loved ones, and their tradition in a way that's both sexy and sanctified.

Seeking to deepen the Jewish conversation about sexuality, The Passionate Torah brings together brilliant thinkers in an attempt to bridge the gap between the sacred and the sexual.

Contributors: Rebecca Alpert, Wendy Love Anderson, Judith R. Baskin, Aryeh Cohen, Elliot Dorff, Esther Fuchs, Bonna Haberman, Elliot Kukla, Gail Labovitz, Malka Landau, Sarra Lev, Laura Levitt, Sara Meirowitz, Jay Michaelson, Haviva Ner-David, Danya Ruttenberg, Naomi Seidman, and Arthur Waskow.

“It is not often that an academic title about religion stimulates other parts of the body as well as the mind. Yet that is what Ruttenberg, a rabbi, and the seventeen contributors to this collection of essays have accomplished. Ruttenberg, a wunderkind of Jewish feminism, leads the reader through an often racy reconsideration of what the sacred Jewish texts say about our most intimate relationships.”

- Publishers Weekly

“Both thought-provoking and fun. The wide variety of approaches to a terrific list of topics ensures that every reader will come away with some fresh perspective on the Torah and sex.”

- Judith Plaskow, author of Standing Again at Sinai

“Living according to Jewish values means embracing a holy sexual ethic. Whether you are single, married, straight, or queer, this book is indispensable in teaching you why and how.”

- Leora Tanenbaum, author of Taking Back God

“It is not often that an academic title about religion stimulates other parts of the body as well as the mind. Yet that is what Ruttenberg, a rabbi, and the seventeen contributors to this collection of essays have accomplished. Ruttenberg, a wunderkind of Jewish feminism, leads the reader through an often racy reconsideration of what the sacred Jewish texts say about our most intimate relationships.”

- Publishers Weekly

“Ruttenberg, a dynamic young rabbi and memoirist, takes a different tack than her predecessors, including not only academics but also activists like Jewish Renewal stalwart Arthur Waskow and Orthodox feminist Haviva Ner-David. Ruttenberg groups the essays under rubrics of ‘I-It, ‘I-Thou, and ‘We-Thou relationships, which might sound a little kinky, but is really just her way of echoing Martin Buber and of suggesting how variously Jews in different times and places relate to their sexuality.”

- Tablet Magazine

“The Passionate Torah is not a guidebook to ‘kosher sex, as Chabad emissary turned high-profile media figure Shmuley Boteach called one of his best-selling books, but rather an assemblage of eighteen essays that apply cutting-edge scholarship to the way the Jewish sources deal with subjects like birth control, homosexuality, premarital sex, niddah (the laws that separate a woman from her husband while she is menstruating), masturbation, and more.”

- Haaretz

“Both thought-provoking and fun. The wide variety of approaches to a terrific list of topics ensures that every reader will come away with some fresh perspective on the Torah and sex.”

- Judith Plaskow, author of Standing Again at Sinai

“Living according to Jewish values means embracing a holy sexual ethic. Whether you are single, married, straight, or queer, this book is indispensable in teaching you why and how.”

- Leora Tanenbaum, author of Taking Back God

“Influenced by the existentialist philosophy of Martin Buber...this timely tome [is] devoted to uncovering consensual and opposing layers of Jewish thought on sex in relationship to self-being, to one another, and to the divine.”

“The vitality and, yes, passion in this assemblage of thought-provoking essays go beyond the 'everything you've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask' mindset. The Passionate Torah is a vivid reminder that sexuality has had a long and distinguished, albeit controversial, place in the Jewish law.”

“The Passionate Torah carries out its goal of starting a new type of conversation about Jews and sexuality in the contemporary age.”

"It is not easy to conduct a serious and productive conversation about sex. keeps one foot in objective academic discourse, while the other pokes mischievously at sacred cows."

“It is not often that an academic title about religion stimulates other parts of the body as well as the mind. Yet that is what Ruttenberg, a rabbi, and the seventeen contributors to this collection of essays have accomplished. Ruttenberg, a wunderkind of Jewish feminism, leads the reader through an often racy reconsideration of what the sacred Jewish texts say about our most intimate relationships.”

and#8220;Shinan and Zakovitch approach 30 specific Bible stories (e.g., Was Goliath really slain by a young boy named David?) as literary archaeologists. . . . Their thoughtful and sympathetic exegesis uncovers possible explanations why the biblical authors saw their interpretations of these stories as best suited to instruct a nation. Most important, they introduce the oral and literary traditions of ancient Israel with breathtaking clarity and ease.and#8221;and#8212;Christopher McConnell, Booklist

and#8220;A meticulously researched primer on the Hebrew Bibleand#8217;s role as part of an evolving theological and political discourse. . . . Shinan and Zakovitch paint a richly nuanced portrait of the biblical literature as an interlocutor in the debates of its day. . . . An illuminating, challenging look at the original significance of many of the Bibleand#8217;s stories.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus

"This book is wonderful, not just for its scholarship or for its many fascinating themes, but also because it is, simply, a joy to read."and#8212;Bob Rickard, Fortean Times

"Readers interested in the legends of ancient Israelites or examining the possibilities of the biblical text from a different viewpoint will enjoy exploring the lessons of From Gods to God."and#8212;Rabbi Rachel Esserman, Reporter

andquot;This was a well researched book and shares some strong arguments on how we have come to be where we are today.andquot;andmdash;Christopher Lewis, Dad of Divasandrsquo; Reviews

andquot;This book will open readers' eyes to a whole new way of reading our sacred texts. It could forever change the way its readers will approach the subject. The term andquot;must readandquot; may be overused, but I believe it is appropriate in describing this book.andquot;andmdash;Stuart Lewis, Jewish Chronicle

What does it mean to be a Jewish woman today? To an Orthodox woman, it means living a religious way of life in which serving God totally defines her self-perception and her role as wife and mother. For the secular woman, it means having a sense of belonging, although not necessarily to a specific Jewish community. Most contemporary Jewish women fall somewhere in between, but at the core of all of their identities is a complex interweaving of religious and ethnic elements, a shared history, and a collective memory of periods of prejudice, persecution, wandering, and resettlement.

Focusing on Jewish women in the United States and Britain, Adrienne Baker examines such issues as women's role in religious law, the spectrum of synagogue observance, the mother's role as conveyor of tradition, conversion and inter- faith marriages, and sexuality. In particular, the book examines the impact of feminism on Jewish women and their culture, uncovering the counterinfluences of tradition and new freedoms on women's lives.

The ancient Israelitesand#160;believed things that the writers of the Bible wanted them to forget: myths and legends from a pre-biblical world that the new monotheist order needed to bury, hide, or reinterpret.and#160;Ancient Israel was rich in such literary traditions before the Bible reached the final form that we have today. These traditions were not lost but continued, passed down through the ages. Many managed to reach us in post-biblical sources: rabbinic literature, Jewish Hellenistic writings, the writings of the Dead Sea sect, the Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and other ancient translations of the Bible, and even outside the ancient Jewish world in Christian and Islamic texts. The Bible itself sometimes alludes to these traditions, often in surprising contexts.and#160;Written in clear and accessible language, this volume presents thirty such traditions. It voyages behind the veil of the written Bible to reconstruct what was told and retold among the ancient Israelites, even if it is and#8220;not what the Bible tells us.and#8221;

and#160;

Avigdor Shinan is the Yitzhak Becker Professor of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous books in Hebrew on rabbinic literature, Jewish liturgy, and the Aramaic translations of the Bible.and#160;Yair Zakovitch is the Emeritus Father Takeji Otsuki Professor of Bible Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a professor of Jewish Peoplehood at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya. He is the author of numerous books in Hebrew on biblical literature and ancient interpretation of the Bible.and#160;Valerie Zakovitch is a translator and editor of works in Jewish studies and the humanities.

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