"The Evil Impulse Is Very Good" Sexual Desire—Necessary, Unavoidable, Feared & Treasured—in Judaism

The rabbis of the Talmud spend a lot of intellectual energy and social legislation attempting to curb and tame the influence of the "yezer ha-rah" or "the Evil Impulse," which to them meant sexual desire. Yet they recognize simultaneously the importance of desire in (quite literally) causing the world continue from generation to generation. How did these two positions coexist, and what can we learn from the ways in which the rabbis mediated between them? Is rabbinic legislation regulating sexuality logical? Misogynist? Homophobic? A discussion of crucial issues of immediate contemporary relevance.

This talk can stand alone, 
or you may enjoy it as part of the series 

"Eros & the Jews: Reading the Rabbis in Bed"  

^click to access

   © Marc Michael Epstein 2012