What do you think?
Rate this book
The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism
In this unique collection of essays, some of today's smartest Jewish thinkers explore a broad range of fundamental questions in an effort to balance ancient tradition and modern sexuality.
In the last few decades a number of factors post-modernism, feminism, queer liberation, and more have brought discussion of sexuality to the fore, and with it a whole new set of questions that challenge time-honored traditions and ways of thinking. For Jews of all backgrounds, this has often led to an unhappy standoff between tradition and sexual empowerment.
Yet as The Passionate Torah illustrates, it is of critical importance to see beyond this apparent conflict if Jews are to embrace both their religious beliefs and their sexuality. With incisive essays from contemporary rabbis, scholars, thinkers, and writers, this collection not only surveys the challenges that sexuality poses to Jewish belief, but also offers fresh new perspectives and insights on the changing place of sexuality within Jewish theology and Jewish lives. Covering topics such as monogamy, inter-faith relationships, reproductive technology, homosexuality, and a host of other hot-button issues, these writings consider how contemporary Jews can engage themselves, their loved ones, and their tradition in a way that s both sexy and sanctified.
Seeking to deepen the Jewish conversation about sexuality, The Passionate Torah brings together brilliant thinkers in an attempt to bridge the gap between the sacred and the sexual.
Contributors: Rebecca Alpert, Wendy Love Anderson, Judith R. Baskin, Aryeh Cohen, Elliot Dorff, Esther Fuchs, Bonna Haberman, Elliot Kukla, Gail Labovitz, Malka Landau, Sarra Lev, Laura Levitt, Sara Meirowitz, Jay Michaelson, Haviva Ner-David, Danya Ruttenberg, Naomi Seidman, and Arthur Waskow.
In the last few decades a number of factors post-modernism, feminism, queer liberation, and more have brought discussion of sexuality to the fore, and with it a whole new set of questions that challenge time-honored traditions and ways of thinking. For Jews of all backgrounds, this has often led to an unhappy standoff between tradition and sexual empowerment.
Yet as The Passionate Torah illustrates, it is of critical importance to see beyond this apparent conflict if Jews are to embrace both their religious beliefs and their sexuality. With incisive essays from contemporary rabbis, scholars, thinkers, and writers, this collection not only surveys the challenges that sexuality poses to Jewish belief, but also offers fresh new perspectives and insights on the changing place of sexuality within Jewish theology and Jewish lives. Covering topics such as monogamy, inter-faith relationships, reproductive technology, homosexuality, and a host of other hot-button issues, these writings consider how contemporary Jews can engage themselves, their loved ones, and their tradition in a way that s both sexy and sanctified.
Seeking to deepen the Jewish conversation about sexuality, The Passionate Torah brings together brilliant thinkers in an attempt to bridge the gap between the sacred and the sexual.
Contributors: Rebecca Alpert, Wendy Love Anderson, Judith R. Baskin, Aryeh Cohen, Elliot Dorff, Esther Fuchs, Bonna Haberman, Elliot Kukla, Gail Labovitz, Malka Landau, Sarra Lev, Laura Levitt, Sara Meirowitz, Jay Michaelson, Haviva Ner-David, Danya Ruttenberg, Naomi Seidman, and Arthur Waskow.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
22 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Danya Ruttenberg
18 books244 followersRabbi Danya Ruttenberg is the author of eight books. Her newest, ON REPENTANCE AND REPAIR: MAKING AMENDS IN AN UNREPENTANT WORLD (Beacon Press, September 2022) applies an ancient framework of repentance and repair not only to our personal relationships, but to the contemporary public square, to institutions, and to national policy--addressing some of the most live and unresolved issues of our time.
She was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of ten “rabbis to watch,” as one of 21 “faith leaders to watch” by the Center for American Progress, by the Forward as one of the top 50 most influential women rabbis, has been a Washington Post Sunday crossword clue (83 Down) and called a “wunderkund of Jewish feminism” by Publishers Weekly.
She has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Salon, Time, The Washington Post, and many other publications. She has been featured on NPR a number of times, as well as in The Atlantic, USA Today, NBC News, CNN, MTV News, Vice, Buzzfeed News, and elsewhere.
Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting (Flatiron Books), was a National Jewish Book Award finalist and PJ Library Parents’ Choice selection; Surprised By God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion (Beacon Press), was nominated for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish literature and a Hadassah Book Club selection. Her other books include The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism (NYU Press), Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism (Seal Press), and, with Rabbi Elliot Dorff, three books for the Jewish Publication Society’s Jewish Choices/Jewish Voices series: Sex and Intimacy, War and National Security, and Social Justice.
She was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of ten “rabbis to watch,” as one of 21 “faith leaders to watch” by the Center for American Progress, by the Forward as one of the top 50 most influential women rabbis, has been a Washington Post Sunday crossword clue (83 Down) and called a “wunderkund of Jewish feminism” by Publishers Weekly.
She has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Salon, Time, The Washington Post, and many other publications. She has been featured on NPR a number of times, as well as in The Atlantic, USA Today, NBC News, CNN, MTV News, Vice, Buzzfeed News, and elsewhere.
Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting (Flatiron Books), was a National Jewish Book Award finalist and PJ Library Parents’ Choice selection; Surprised By God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion (Beacon Press), was nominated for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish literature and a Hadassah Book Club selection. Her other books include The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism (NYU Press), Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism (Seal Press), and, with Rabbi Elliot Dorff, three books for the Jewish Publication Society’s Jewish Choices/Jewish Voices series: Sex and Intimacy, War and National Security, and Social Justice.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 19, 2009
Well, I'm reviewing this book for Bitch, so I can't say all that much. While I liked some of the essays, particularly the ones in the final secion that incorporated a lot more queer stuff, I wasn't overly enthused about the anthology as a whole.
There's a piece by a conservative rabbi arguing that straight Jewish couples should start having more children at younger ages to help combat the so-called “demographic crisis.” What? And there's lots of reclaiming of traditions like not having marital sex while a woman has her period that creeped me out.
At the same time, I think there are probably straightish Jews who are returning to Judaism who might find some of the essays useful. And how cool that they will then come across an esssay that discusses how the presence of gender non-conforming people in the Jewish book of law (the Talmud) uproots traditional notions of gender and sexuality.
There's a piece by a conservative rabbi arguing that straight Jewish couples should start having more children at younger ages to help combat the so-called “demographic crisis.” What? And there's lots of reclaiming of traditions like not having marital sex while a woman has her period that creeped me out.
At the same time, I think there are probably straightish Jews who are returning to Judaism who might find some of the essays useful. And how cool that they will then come across an esssay that discusses how the presence of gender non-conforming people in the Jewish book of law (the Talmud) uproots traditional notions of gender and sexuality.
June 21, 2018
Review forthcoming
January 22, 2020
Like many anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. Some of the essays are clearly for an academic audience, some for readers already immersed in Talmudic thinking, and only a few for the general Jewish reader. Some are dry. Some are polemics. Others are truly inspirational. Like the Torah itself, most of the essays presume heterosexuality, and almost none deal with lesbians, but one piece on the androgynous person was a revelation to me.
I finished the book thinking, “Most of the research and analysis that went into this book is now twenty years old. I wonder what the literature says today?”
I finished the book thinking, “Most of the research and analysis that went into this book is now twenty years old. I wonder what the literature says today?”
April 27, 2024
Some of the later chapters were very good but the first section was entirely "Judaism is misogynistic, anti feminist, and backdated" and the reader was inclined to ask "but...?" And receive no answer. Even later chapters were dated especially when it came to queer relationships. All but one of the chapters was entirely able cis, hetero relationships.
November 24, 2019
I learned so much from reading this. Forever indebted to Danya for what she has done for the Jewish community through this book and Twitter
December 17, 2022
This book is really in depth , I had expected more of an overview of the topic. I like that it includes essays from a variety of authors , but it was a bit much for me .
Read
October 20, 2025Not the best, some essays were more interesting than others but none were must reads
July 27, 2011
Almost every essay in this anthology blew my mind! While I found a few of them to be so overly-academic that they became dense, the vast majority were not only extremely readable, but intelligent, thought-provoking, innovative takes on issues related to sex & Judaism. An AMAZING collection from some of the foremost thinkers on a truly modern take at one of the oldest religions.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews