Sexuality in Tanakh
Rabbi David Debow
Tuesdays, July 25 to August 15 - 10:00am Eastern, 5:00pm Israel
Sexual decision making covers a very wide swath of human activity. From the obvious questions about choosing a mate to the more subtle decisions about how we make ourselves more attractive to a potential or even current mate. We will see how and why Tanakh casts questions of gainful employment, social status, and cultural assimilation all through a sexual lens.
Indeed, sexual considerations pervade our everyday choices. Armed with this broad definition, we will look at several passages from Tanakh and extract some timeless perspectives, and see how the Tanakh speaks directly to many of what we thought were particularly modern sexual predicaments.
Class 1 (July 25) - The Tree of Knowledge and the Sin of Knowing
Class 2 (August 1) - Gender and Creation
Class 3 (August 8) - Sexual Fields and the Wayward Woman
Class 4 (August 15) - Attraction and Culture: Fords, Ferraris and Pharaohs
Each class will stand alone so that missing one class does not prevent joining the next class. We will examine primary sources mostly from Tanakh and Mishna. All sources will appear in translation, although a working knowledge of Hebrew will be helpful. No prior knowledge is assumed but a sophisticated and mature approach to Biblical Personalities will be taken. Beginners can take the course, although it is not beginner material.
