Sacred Secrets: The Sanctity of Sex in Jewish Law and Lore [Hardcover]

Gershon Winkler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 076579974X | ISBN-13: 978-0765799746 | Publication Date: April 1, 1998 | Edition: First Edition

By returning to primary source material, including the Torah and ancient and medieval rabbinic literature, Rabbi Gershon Winkler illustrates the often uninhibited and celebrative attitudes towards sexuality and sensual pleasure found in Jewish teachings. Unfortunately, Judaism's healthy outlook on human desires and physical enjoyment has been nearly lost after centuries of subjection to host religions and cultures that have all but squelched the notion of sensuality. In this fascinating and often surprising volume, the myth of a 'Judeo-Christian' approach to sex is shattered.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gershon Winkler is a widely recognized scholar in the fields of Jewish law, lore, theology, and mysticism. A descendant of a scion of rabbis originating in Judea, Rabbi Winkler has devoted much of the past two decades to writing and teaching about the lesser-promulgated wisdoms of Judaism and to Hebraic scriptural interpretation. Rabbi Winkler is also the founder and executive director of Walking Stick Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the recovery of aboriginal Judaism.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.; First Edition edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076579974X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765799746
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,760,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A curious potpourri, October 25, 2005

By 

Ploni ben Ploni - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Secrets: The Sanctity of Sex in Jewish Law and Lore (Hardcover)

This mischevious little book gathers excerpts from all over the Jewish legal codes on such topics as masturbation, nudity, looking at your partner in the nude, variations in positions, etctera, etcetera, all with the aim of demonstrating that the rabbis of sainted memory weren't as prudish as their tzaddik portraits make them appear. Winkler is a provocateur par excellence, sifting through centuries of rabbinic literature to find minority opinions permitting nearly everything that contemporary ultraorthodoxy now notoriously prohibits. The jewel in the crown is a translation of Jacob of Emden's 18th-century responsum defending the halachic validity of concubinage (an non-marital arrangement between a man and an unmarried woman that can be terminated at will). Concubinage has long been legislated out of existence, but Jacob of Emden's dissenting opinion holds that as long as an unmarried woman is (a) using the mikveh, and (b) monogamous, there should be no problem for her to have relations with a man (married or unmarried) under concubinage laws. Rabbis who disagree, like Maimonides, who holds that such a woman would be a kedesha (prostitute), or Nachmanides, who holds that concubinage is a perogative for kings only, don't get much airtime here. This book is all about stirring the pot.

So who is this book intended for? Unmarried Torah Jews aren't going to suddenly start sneaking off to the mikveh, and why would anyone else need a heter for what they are going to do anyway? I'm puzzled about that one. But then I read the book, so what can I say.

As an aside, it's interesting that Winkler interprets "turning over the table" in Nedarim 20b as a variation in sexual position. Traditional interpretation actually holds that this passage refers to something considerably raunchier. And, yes, even black-hat rabbis agree that it's permitted.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judaism at its sexiest, May 17, 2000

By 

Alex - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Secrets: The Sanctity of Sex in Jewish Law and Lore (Hardcover)

Everything you ever wanted what Traditional Orthodox Judaism teaches about sex? Well, this book ocvers everything from Pre-marital sex to birth control, to everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask. This book shows that Judaism, Orhtodox in particular, is not cut and dry and boring when it comes to sexuality as some make it seem. Get this book and you will learn things you only thought were possible. Also, everything that is talked about in the book has a source if you just can't believe your eyes. Believe me, you will re-read it at least twice when you read this book's contents.