Furthermore, sexual pressure sometimes works the other way, convincing Orthodox Jews to no longer be Orthodox, so that they can live a sexually satisfied lifestyle without feeling hypocritical. The legal roots of shomer negiah are easily overturned: Women are biblically mandated to go to a mikvah, a ritual bath, between when their periods end and when sex begins. The rabbis extended “sex” to mean all forms of physical contact, and then decided not to let single women go to the mikvah, lest they have sex. The rabbis could easily overturn the ban on single women immersing, since the principles both of “human dignity” and “et laasot laHashem,” a time in which one halacha must be undone to protect the system, can be used to overturn rabbinic rulings.
The common reason given for not undoing the ban is that it will cause single women to become promiscuous. There are separate rabbinic rulings against pre-marital sex, but those have not been explicitly extended to other forms of physical intimacy, so getting rid of the mikvah ban would make “everything but” completely kosher. It also would keep actual intercourse forbidden, but rabbis just don’t trust women – and that is the real problem. (While single men are also expected to remain chaste, the laws and rhetoric are termed mostly in terms of female obligation, and every rabbi I’ve spoken to about this has mentioned a fear about women’s desires, and not about men’s.)
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
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.
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!
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!
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 a great way to ask interesting questions about the interplay between sensuality and Jewish wisdom. Check it out.
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
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
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
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!
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