Written by Anonymous. Anonymous may be a first-time Jewrotica writer. 🙂
I:
It’s hard to give thanks for something that is dying.
Alex is doing some alarmingly fast push-ups on the floor. He has a routine: forty push ups, followed by two minutes of rest, followed by forty more push ups. Repeat ten times, for a total of four hundred. Unsurprisingly, his biceps are sinewy and generous, my favorite part of his body.
When we first started dating, I would poke a tentative finger at this undeniable but unbelievable mound of muscle, and he would laugh, and send a finger straight to my ribs and call me “Skeletor.”
He hasn’t touched me in weeks.
II:
It’s hard to give thanks for something that is dying.
“Are you coming to Thanksgiving or not?” he asks, pulling a thread from his sweater.
“Are there going to be kosher options?” I counter. Alex’s family’s idea of kashrut migrated with them from Moscow in the 90s. They keep the butter and the pork on opposite sides of the table, and think my insistence on plastic utensils and pre-packaged food is both charming and insane.
“Would you come if there were?” There is a challenge in his voice.
“You know I can’t.”
“You know you could. If you wanted.”
“Alex…” I lay a conciliatory hand on his arm, wishing he would flex the muscle beneath, the way he used to when he cared about impressing me.
He doesn’t.
III:
It’s hard to give thanks for something that is dying.
I am practicing scenarios in my head, mouthing the words.
“Ima, I need to tell you something.” “Abba, um, I want you to listen to me before you fly off the handle.” “Ima, I have something to tell you.” “Abba, please don’t kill me.” I bang my forehead against the table. This is pointless.
“That looks painful,” Alex says from the kitchen, his mouth full of something. I leap up.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to watch you having a conversation with yourself.”
“I’m trying to figure out the best way to tell my mom and dad,” I say.
He snorts. He’s been watching every fruitless variant of this exercise for the past six months and has developed a remarkable resistance to the sulks that invariably follow.
“I’ll let you get to it,” he says.
“Thanks,” I mutter to his retreating back.
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
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 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!
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.
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
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 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!
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
Jewrotica rocks. It’s funny, it’s informative, it’s sexy, it’s interesting. Check it out!
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.
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