Spirituality and Intimacy: Where Heaven and Love Meet

Spirituality and Intimacy: Where Heaven and Love Meet
Rabbi Raphael Aron
Mosaica Press / 196 pp.

Rabbi Raphael Aron, a Chabad Rabbi from Melbourne with a proven record of experience and expertise in the world of “Love and Judaism,” has released yet another title on the subject.

In Spirituality and Intimacy, the author presents many different facets of marriage, intimacy, and child rearing, explaining Judaism's position on the issue from philosophical perspectives. The book does a great job in highlighting the beauty of each of these issues. This is true even regarding the temporary restrictions between husband and wife that can frustrate a relationship. The author weaves material from a variety of Torah sources and genres highlighting comparisons, metaphors, and symbolism from other areas of Torah and observance.

For example, the are citations from throughout scripture on romance in Judaism, a comparison between the restrictions of marriage and the restrictions of Shabbat, marriage modeled on various biblical couples, a woman’s distinct role and capabilities based on biblical precedents, the airport as a model for the monthly cycle, the ideal manner of sexual activity based on a variety of unexpected sources, and much much more.

Spirituality and Intimacy does not touch upon the realm of halacha, but rather, simply endeavors to show the beauty of Judaism’s approach to intimacy with the hope that it will help readers revitalize their relationships. The presentation, purpose and content of the book brings to mind the words of the Mesillat Yesharim “I have not written this book to teach you things that you do not already know, but rather to remind you of things that you do know, and that are clear to you. But precisely because these things seem so clear, we forget them and ignore them, and seldom give them our attention.” And this, the book does quite nicely.

http://mosaicapress.com/spirituality-intimacy/

Popular posts from this blog

Food: A Halachic Analysis

Image
Food: A Halachic Analysis Rabbi Yehuda Spitz Mosaica, 480 pp I am unsure whether “outstanding,” “remarkable,” or “spectacular,” best describes Rabbi Yehuda Spitz’s sefer “Food: A Halachic Analysis”  -- though all three adjectives may not do justice. In over 30 chapters discussing various food and kashrut related halacha, Rabbi Spitz, a sho’el u’meishiv at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, presents unprecedented clarity in explaining and demystifying the issues. Some of these issues include waiting between cheese and meat, using dishwashers for both milk and meat, fish and milk, eggs and onions left uncovered overnight, chalav Yisrael, marit ayin, and much much more. It is thorough, clear, and makes everything easy to understand. Definitely one of his flagship chapters is the appendix on the history of Gelatin and its kosher status. These chapters are not merely regurgitations of what readers have certainly seen in so many other places, but rather, original compositions in the aut...
Read more

Sexuality and Jewish Law

Image
Sexuality and Jewish Law Yaakov Shapiro 430 pages In his Sexuality and Jewish Law, Yaakov Shapiro, an ordained rabbi and non-conformist Lubavitcher chassid, offers a thorough, unapologetic, and uncensored presentation of everything relating to sexual activity and Jewish law.  All rabbinic texts that deal with sexual matters are cited along with the interpretations and comments of all the relevant rishonim , achronim , and poskim . There is also a full presentation of the various halachic opinions and resolutions to the contradictions between them. The exhaustive endnotes are essentially an additional book in their own right. While the book is extremely well researched and impressive in its scope, the author clearly has an agenda and bone to pick. As he writes in the introduction, the book was born out of a bad experience and frustrations with what he was being taught in chattan classes and the “one-sided” approach to the laws of intimacy. The author seeks to put a...
Read more

Aggadah: Sages, Stories & Secrets

Image
Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein Mosaica / 266 pages The Talmudic and Midrashic texts known as Aggadah are the stories, folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice, words of inspiration, and most importantly, Jewish wisdom on how to best live our life in the service of God. In Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets, Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein, a rebbe in a number of yeshivot and seminaries, takes us on journey through 18 different Haggadic pieces. Some of the topics include free will, inspiration, gratitude, prayer, torah study, mitzva observance, Shabbat, and much more. It is also worth mentioning that the Introduction includes a primer (based on the Rambam [1] ) on the role and authority of Aggada, especially with regard to Aggadic pieces that are sensational, completely unrealistic, or otherwise difficult to digest. Every chapter begins with an Aggadic reading. Then, after asking a number of compelling q...
Read more