Written by Tomer Persico. Tomer, a first-time Jewrotica writer, is a scholar in the field of contemporary spirituality, specializing in Jewish meditation techniques, past and present. He teaches at Tel Aviv University and the Secular Yeshiva in Jerusalem, writes freelance for different Israeli newspapers and blogs at tomerpersico.com.
This piece has been translated by Ben Greenfield. Ben Greenfield is an alumnus of the Tikvah Fellowship and a writer living in rural Connecticut.
Several years ago, I realized that Kabbalah is one of the most damaging aspects of Judaism. You might find this shocking. This is, after all, our most “secret” esoteric text! Developed in the 13th century (a full century after Maimonides and sixteen hundred years after the Buddha), Kabbalah was supposed to direct people to self-knowledge, to awareness of the divine reality within them. Kabbalah spins a sprawling metaphysical web full of divine entities that are supposedly “out there” and which somehow “bring down” God into our world. The problem isn’t the myth itself… The problem is when the myth is taken literally – and indeed, that is precisely as it has been understood by the majority of Kabbalists. [There are theories that before the Arizal most Kabbalists understood the system figuratively, as a symbolic literature meant to awaken within man the spiritual life.] But that is certainly not so in the present day.
Kabbalah was “internalized” via Hasidism in the aftermath of the tragedy that was Sabbatianism (a tragedy that was truly inevitable if you really understand the Kabbalistic approach – indeed, it is the natural culmination thereof!). And grand theosophic entities were interpreted as personal, psychological elements, resulting in the current Kabbalistic conception that much wisdom can be gleaned from its layers of symbolic meaning.
Of course, this is broad topic, but I’d like to zero in on one part, a relatively small part of the Kabbalistic story which makes for a nice example both of the Kabbalistic worldview and the tragic consequences such a view brings.
A new study by Shilo Pechter on the prohibition against masturbation (lit. “spilling seed in vain”) shows how only with the influence of Kabbalah did this sin become invested with such exaggerated significance. It’s my intent to present some of Pechter’s source-texts, with the goal of summarizing in very broad terms the development of this sin as it passed through the gears of the Kabbalah. Maybe if you’re struggling with keeping your hands to yourself, you should seek help from websites similar to masturbationaddiction.com.
Pechter shows how, in the Kabbalistic writings, semen became a human parallel to the “Divine overflow” – such that “destruction of seed” was tantamount to damaging the life-force that emanates from God. For this “human” overflow doesn’t drain away; it joins up with “forces of Impurity,” such as sheidim (demons) and other dark spirits. The Arizal’s Kabbalah describes not just the sins of man, but the Divine dynamic behind them, and thus we find hints of the idea that Creation itself is nothing but the autoerotic emission of the Godhead.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
I’m so glad that Jewrotica is represented here at Jewlicious! It’s bringing voices that need to be heard in the Jewish discussion and Jewish climate environment.
The Jewrotica event “Evening of Jewrotica: Bedside Reading” was awesome. As Master of Confessions, I got to read the deepest, darkest secrets of people in the room out loud… It was scintillating, titillating, and – yes – even educational!
Jewrotica was everything I had dreamed of and more: sexy attendees, tantalizing confessions, and well-written literature to boot! More importantly, it empowers us Jews to reach inside and own our sexy selves and heritage!
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
I had a great time deejaying at the Jewrotica event at Columbia University. The live readings were hilarious, informative, and in some cases, deeply moving. I know that I, along with many of my AEPi fraternity brothers, loved being able to connect our Judaism and our sexuality in a way that made all of us feel comfortable and welcome. I look forward to being a part of this again in the future!
What an incredible night Jewrotica was!!!! There was this fantastic moment, in a sea of Jews of all sexualities, ages, backgrounds and denominations, that I realized we were all in this together! I hope that there are many more events coming to Austin soon!
Jewrotica is a great way to ask interesting questions about the interplay between sensuality and Jewish wisdom. Check it out.
You may not tell your mom that you’re going to a live Jewrotica reading (or whatever clever name you will dub these events) but you will tell your friends. However, both would be jealous if they find out that they missed it. I think it will only be a matter of time before Jewrotica helps us reclaim the term “Dirty Jew” the way rap music has done for “The ‘N’ Word.” I know I am now proud to be a Dirty Jew!
At Jewrotica’s Evening of Bedside Readings, students declaimed monologues on sexual encounters that had a Jewish twist. At Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the speakers pushed their own boundaries by performing a range of explicit narratives that challenged how the audience thought of the relationship to Judaism and sex. During the speakers’ preparation, the arguments about which narratives would be appropriate forced students to take a stand and voice their opinion on their own beliefs about Judaism an… Read more
My opinion on Jewrotica is: It’s sexy. It’s awesome. It’s Judaism to the next level. It’s what we should all be getting into!
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