Halachic Positions: What Judaism Really Says about Passion in the Marital Bed (Sexuality and Jewish Law: In Search of a Balanced Approach in Torah)

EXPANDED EDITION, WITH INDEX (Third Edition: January 22, 2017) Since ancient times, Judaism has offered a wide range of approaches on the matter of sexual expression within marriage, reflecting a wide range of interpretation and sensibility, and theoretically enabling each and every couple to tailor the law of this most intimate, private part of life to the unique physical and spiritual dimensions of their relationship. But a study of the sources reveals a trend in the last few hundred years to downplay, or even deny, Torah’s embrace of sexual exploration within marriage, generally revealing to the masses only its most puritanical approach. This study opens up Judaism's sacred texts on sex to the English reader, providing an in-depth analysis of the relevant Talmudic-era passages as well as the medieval, post-medieval and latter-day Jewish commentaries and legal authorities.