Written by Ophira. Ophira is a first-time Jewrotica writer. [Editor’s Note: Be advised that this piece contains references to fantasy and sexual assault that may be triggering for some readers. And don’t forget to check the handy Jewrotica Glossary for any unfamiliar terms.]
Growing up in Efrat, I had a healthy level of interaction with both men and women. For those of you unfamiliar with Efrat, we are a vibrant Orthodox and Zionist community 8,000 strong located just outside of Jerusalem. Most of Efrat’s residents are ideologically motivated to live here and Judaism guides our daily life and practice, though we are not Haredi. We identify as Dati Li’Umi – this literally means “national religious” and can be compared to Modern Orthodox in America, but our community is really a different ballpark altogether.
I attended a girls-only ulpana during high school, though I would see the guys in the community on Shabbat afternoon at B’nai Akiva – our youth group – and that was fine by me. Social interaction between the guys and girls was permitted and even encouraged on Shabbat, but remained innocent enough. There was no making out with boys, no hand holding, nothing like that – and my friends and I internalized a lot of the values that came from living in this “wholesome” and at times sheltered world.
There was little romance in my life as a teenager, but I had role models for what a healthy relationship looked like: two loving parents who sometimes seemed too mushy as they would kiss all the time… in front of me and my siblings.
My parent’s interactions normalized the idea of romantic affection between spouses, but nobody had initiated any real discussions with me about sexuality and its place in a relationship. I didn’t have any outlets to understand or embrace sexuality, and certainly didn’t receive any real sexual education in high school.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
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!
I attended and participated in last month’s Jewrotica event. The engaging performers and Ayo, our inviting host, inspired the audience to feel like one big community. What a great way to inspire our community to embrace sex as a beautiful thing that can be fun, exciting, sacred, sensual, ridiculous, scary and everything in between!
Bedside Reading with Jewrotica was funny, sexy, and hot all at once. The readings were honest about all kinds of sexuality, but the highlight of the evening was definitely the confessions, written by audience participants. Nobody knew who wrote them, and most were tell-alls that would make your bubbe blush. Unless your bubbe was very, very cool. Then maybe she’d make YOU blush!
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
Learning about sex and what’s right and wrong when it comes to sex from a Biblical standpoint was an eye opening experience. I completely enjoyed it and think something like this could be a very cool thing to bring to even high school aged Jewish youth groups.
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.
Jewrotica is something that the community has needed for a long time so that people can actually learn, express and share and have good relationships without having to stumble through life. Check out the site and learn something. Have fun!
The people behind Jewrotica are quite quality! I have confidence that any project these folks take on will be equally quality.
Jewrotica rocks. It’s funny, it’s informative, it’s sexy, it’s interesting. Check it out!
Such an amazing experience! The Sarah Lawrence Jewrotica workshop was more than I could have ever expected – a comfortable, safe, sultry environment where participants clearly felt good about sharing or listening to each other’s intimate experiences and relating them to sexy stories from the Torah. From the moment the workshop began, Ayo had a sweet presence that was kinetic and spread around the room; her storytelling abilities had everyone enraptured and made the conversation topics relata… Read more
Copyright © 2014 Jewrotica.org. All Rights Reserved.
Built with Love and Mischief.
Designed by Ayo Oppenheimer and
David Abitbol
Pingback: Censorship, Deceit and Values | Jewrotica