Summer 2012
I finally got my o1 visa to live and work in the States for three years. I was thrilled, but literally within weeks of getting it I fell very ill and was diagnosed with a number of different autoimmune illnesses. It was bizarre that within the space of a couple of weeks I was celebrating and then commiserating. As I learnt this was the way of life – blessings and curses all together – but only time and experience would allow me to decipher which was which. Life could be confusing like that.
For the first time ever I did proper Rosh Hashanah preparation – proper Teshuvah – I spent six weeks or so really almost on the floor of my apartment, crying, repenting, forgiving others, forgiving myself and healing.
That Rosh Hashanah was the most powerful yet. And I remember clearly in it saying to the upper worlds – for what I have sinned, and I know I have sinned so much, give me your judgment – I accept it and I hope that I will be gracious in handling it. I also thanked them for not bringing me my soulmate, for I knew that if they had done so, I would never have pushed this far on my spiritual path and transformed into being who I was really meant to be in this lifetime.
A mere six weeks after the holidays, I was glad to be slowly but surely making a miraculous recovery from my illnesses. And then one day out of the blue holidays, I received an email entitled, ‘I have a guy for you,’ from a producer friend of mine. I opened it thinking she had finally found me a videographer for a project, but no, she was setting me up with someone – totally out of the blue – I opened the picture and as I stared at the man in it I felt this sense of familiarity and deep connection to this total stranger.
It was almost like some kind of soul memory/flashbacks from lifetimes ago. It freaked me out but I agreed to the matchmaking and that night the Hero, as I came to know him, called me for the first time. There was a familiarity and ease to our conversation. When he came to collect me for our first date, and I looked him in the eye I knew this was the start of something special. My instant affinity with the Hero was on all levels – heart, body, mind and soul was like nothing I had experienced before in my life. At times when we kissed I literally felt the angels around us dancing. I knew early on that whatever happened between us meeting had proved to me that my soulmate didn’t have to be a Jew. And in that way the Hero was the answer to my prayers and provided the salvation and healing of my heart and soul.
But meeting the Hero did not dampen my enthusiasm and intrigue with Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism which continues. Whilst I stopped what I felt was akin to routine religious ritual shortly after last Rosh Hashanah and just before meeting the Hero, that in no way means my studies and adventures have stopped. Earlier this year I went to Poland and the Ukraine in freezing cold temperatures schlepping about visiting all the great Tzadiks including my beloved Reb Elimelech and Zusha as well as the Seer of Lublin and many other great souls.
I have no doubt my studies and adventures to the Tzadikim all over the world will continue. Now I know with absolute certainty that whoever I end up spending the rest of my life with, who will no doubt be the romantic love of my life, but the Torah, Zohar and the Tzadiks are part of my life and always will be – and in that sense, they are the true soul loves of my life.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
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
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 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.
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!
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
I’m Heshy Fried from Frum Satire and I am very, very frum. And I completely support Jewrotica – it’s doing a service to the frum community. We need some sort of kosher sexual education. Jewrotica even has a system that allows frum filters to filter out certain things to make it PG for us. It’s mamish Torah. It’s like The Little Midrash Says for sex.
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.
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 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!
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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