The tantric ceremony, or “puja,” reminded me of an ornate mating dance that peacocks or any striking beautiful animal might perform. On the last night of the retreat, we were invited to participate in a puja where men and women were cast in the roles of Shiva (Gods) and Shakti (Goddesses). Through chanting, spinning and meditating, the participants were seemingly transformed into powerful and attractive incarnations of themselves. With this transformation, they were freed to dance with complete abandon.
Parts of the ritual were scripted and even resembled a short play. Each goddess made for herself a temple (a designated area with pillows and so forth), and each “shiva” presented his goddess with a red rose, a white rose, a glass of wine and – finally – the gift of fire before being honored with a seat in her temple domain. This role play seemed to elevate each person into the tzelem elokim that he or she was. Following this ritual came the sincere recitation of scripts:
“Enter the Caress, Sweet Princess, of Everlasting Love…”
“Enter the Caress, Sweet Princess, of Everlasting Light…”
“Enter the Caress, Sweet Princess, of Everlasting Life…”
With each line, the shiva took a rose and traced its petals down the face or torso of his shakti. The respect, admiration, care and consideration in the room – in each palace – truly made each person a stage name for the divine. It might sound hokey, but it just…wasn’t.
As the participants danced around the room and subsequently moved around the fire, chanting and breathing in the incense, I realized that these practices are totally the avodah zara that our forefathers spoke about. But it makes sense: Sexuality can be intoxicating and all-encompassing – even the sensuality of just breathing. If the first weekend was that powerful, imagine the effect that the second and third weekends (combined with a “foreign” religious practice) could have. No wonder the Tanach wanted us to stay away..
As someone who was raised in a traditional Jewish home, I appreciated the tremendous presence of ritual in tantric practice. While Judaism does have rituals that pertain to sexuality such as mikvah, many of them come off as legalistic or preparatory rather than explicitly connected to enhancing sensual and sexual acts. Judaism has few rituals that directly speak to sex and sexuality. Perhaps this is our way of upholding modesty and privacy and perhaps it is a good thing to have less regimentation and more potential freedom in this area, but one of the things that I love about Judaism is that it creates a structure for our intentions. My foray into tantric practices felt notable precisely because it creates a vessel in which to hone, elevate and play with sexual energy.
On my last afternoon at the retreat, I took some time to reflect on the sessions and wander around the ashram. There were beautiful grounds, delicious food and the weekend was powerful. However, when I looked at our sessions honestly, I realized that – despite the presence of kabbalat Shabbat on the schedule, the Jewish background of the organizers and the fact that I wanted there to be a connection to Judaism – there was not much inherently Jewish about the retreat.
Nevertheless, my induction into the world of tantra helped me to understand that there can be tremendous value to mindful sexual rituals and practices. Sensual and sexual practices can enhance many a person’s sex life, and that is holy work. So – in the coming weeks – I will be curating pieces from Kabbalists and Rabbis across the denominational spectrum that speak to enhancing and going deep without sexuality and sensuality in a mindful and spiritual Jewish way.
So, if you are in Israel and are curious about this tantra stuff, reach out to Ben and Efrat to learn about what’s going on near you. If you are in England and dare to go beyond comfort zones, feel free to contact Hanna Tantra for a deep-dive into her world. And – whether tantra seems exciting and exotic or heretical and unappealing – if you want to contribute to articles on how to increase mindfulness and pleasure in a Jewish context, please be in touch!
And who knows? Maybe you’ll get a deeper glimpse into this world at next year’s Tantra-Meets-Kabbalah Spiritual and Sexual Jewrotica Retreat. You’ll want to register early for that one… 😉
Light and Love,
PS – Don’t ever miss another post! Sign up for our new weekly Jewrotica digest here.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
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 stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
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!
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
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!
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.
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.
While many people fear the “sex talk,” Jewrotica offers an opportunity for writers and audiences to speak about sexuality in a open and safe space. When I attended a Jewrotica reading, I heard stories that reminded me that love takes many forms, and that expressing it is a vital part of who we are as a people.
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!
Copyright © 2014 Jewrotica.org. All Rights Reserved.
Built with Love and Mischief.
Designed by Ayo Oppenheimer and
David Abitbol
Pingback: Spring Celebrations and “Celebrity” Musings (Part 2 of 2) | Our Take on Freedom: Escaping the 9-to-5 Before 25