Eros And The Jews: From Biblical Israel To Contemporary America

by David Biale

SCUFFING, MINOR EDGEWEAR AND CHAFING ON COVERS & SPINE. INSIDE COVERS AND PAGES CLEAN AND ALL ARE INTACT. THERE IS AN OCCASIONAL DING AT OUTER EDGE OF PAGES.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Pornography, Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Rachel Dick Plonka]

Found this on a friend's bookshelf and couldn't resist (har har). This book was so insightful, nuanced, and strangely fascinating. I couldn't believe how gripping it was, despite it being from an academic perspective. Dr. Biale comes from a very balanced, unbiased place, which I loved. It is my pet peeve when I read a book, especially one on a sensitive or religious topic, and the author's biases are just leaping off the pages. I grew up quite Orthodox, and felt that this book filled in all the gaps that were left out in my strict, all-girls' high school. It is a vast topic, but Biale broke it down into clever categories, starting from the Bible, and traversing all the way to sexuality in modern American culture (lots of Woody Allen references). Also discussed in this book was the interplay between sexuality and Kabbalah, Zionism, the Enlightenment, Hasidism, and more. My Jewish knowledge has been vastly expanded. I highly recommend this book.

[Ted Morgan]

The subject is too vast for the book. Judaism is multivalent. Still an interesting excursion.

[Noemie Taylor]

In this brilliant nuanced book, David Biale subtly explores and dismantles the preconceived ideas and clichés about Jewish sexuality throughout history, from Antiquity to contemporary America. His deciphering of rabbinical interdictions and literature helps uncover and understand the desires and (sometimes) transgressive sexual practices of the common Jewish people, far from the constructed storybook image we are used to. Truly fascinating. A must-read.