SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Double Wrong
n
Jerusalem
"fear and loathing of sex that origi-
ave you ever been the vic-
nates largely from a primitive notion
tim of a vicious rumor
of women's bodies as essentially
that you were powerless to
unclean."
stop? Well, I am. All the
Yet no religion so celebrates the
time. Not me personally — but me,
physical union of husband and wife as
the Orthodox Jew.
Judaism. The sages saw in the erotic
The most recent occasion for that
imagery of Song of Songs, the most
sense of violation was the
beautiful of biblical poeins,
opening in the United States
a metaphor for the love of
of Kadosh, the latest work of
God and the Jewish people.
Israel's best-known filmmaker,
The Talmud details the sex-
Amos Gitai. Kadosh purports
ual obligations of husbands
to portray the marital lives of
to their wives. Women are
two sisters in Jerusalem's Mea
advised to marry Torah
Shearim quarter.
scholars. Why? Because
Gitai at least was honest
they prolong marital rela-
enough to admit that his film
tions.
is a work of agit-prop. "It's
In the Talmud, one finds
JONATHAN
my way," he said, "of voting
one sage's explicit advice to
ROSENBLUM
against the religious right.
his daughters as to how to
Special to
There has been a veritable
maximize sexual pleasure
the Jewish News with their husbands. Nach-
coup d'etat [in Israel] by the
religious community."
manides, one of the greatest
Others, most notably New York
of our exegetes, writes that the best
Times reviewer Stephen Holden, how-
recipe for producing happy, beautiful
ever, chose to treat this work of fiction
children is the extra measure of love
as a factually unassailable documen-
brought about by the joy of sexual
tary. For Holden, the film establishes
union.
the "oppression" of women in ultra-
The marital night of one of the sis-
Orthodox society. The "profound and
ters in Kadosh was described by the
shocking misogyny" of that world has
Forward's reviewer as perhaps the
its source, according to Holden, in a
crudest, most unloving portrayal of
the sex act ever filmed," with the hus-
band hastily removing as few clothes
Jonathan Rosenblum, who lives in
as possible and lunging at his bride as
Israel, is a monthly columnist for the
she screams in agony. How many
Jewish News. His e-mail address is
Orthodox marital bedrooms, one
amechad@isdn.netil
wonders, has Gitai witnessed? As a
matter of fact, the Talmud speaks deri-
sively of those who make love while
clothed.
Anyone with eyes to see can detect
a palpable electricity between newly
married Orthodox couples, despite the
absence of public physical contact.
And that electricity surely derives in
part from the fact that they are each
other's first partners — not just the
latest stop on the line — and can rea-
sonably expect to be each other's last.
Among the other patent lies perpe-
trated by Kadosh is that Orthodox
Jews view female impurity as the sole
cause of infertility. Really? Were the
Matriarchs — Sarah, Rebecca and
Rachel — impure?
Another lie is that sex other than
for the purpose of procreation is for-
- bidden. Orthodox marital relations are
not suspended with pregnancy nor do
they end at menopause. When Ortho-
dox couples experience fertility prob-
lems, they consult the leading medical
experts, like everyone else.
But what about the overall charge
of misogyny? As an Orthodox male, I
am obviously not a credible witness.
So let Orthodox women relate their •
own experience.
Debra Renee Kaufman, the author
of Rachel's Daughters, is someone who
did. Though Kaufman is a self-
described committed feminist sociolo-
gist, she is also that rarest of beings
today — an honest listener. Rachel's
Daughters is her report of interviews
with 150 baalot teshuva (returnees),
most of whom were themselves active
participants in the women's movement
and the sexual revolution.
Rather than the strictures of Torah
Judaism being something that these
women had to overcome on the road
to religious observance, they are all
quick to point out that "the most val-
ued part of their lives has to do with
their lives as women within Jewish
orthodoxy." Not one expressed any
doubts about her "theological equality
in Orthodox Judaism" or doubts that
she is as "capable and worthy of spiri-
tual bonding with God as men are."
Upon entering the Orthodox com-
munity, they found themselves for the
first time to be members of a commu-
nity in which the traditional "feminine
virtues" — modesty, the centrality of
home and family, sharing rather than
competing — are those emphasized by
the society at large. As a consequence,
they are "able to make demands on
men as husbands and fathers in ways
they believe less possible in the secular
world."
Orthodoxy empowers them.
"Before I became Orthodox," one
woman told Kaufman, "I was male-
identified. You know: what's male is
better. Not in Judaism. If anything, it
is a bit reversed." Orthodox women
engage in a daily round of communal
activities dominated by other women.
Many find that their female friend-
ships are deeper than in the past
one's high school years will forever be
available to their descendants and the
entire community.
Books from the following people
have been donated in their memory:
Alice Frank Allweil, Jack Allweil, Mor-
ris J. Brandwine, Stuart J. Brickner,
Donald (Daniel) Frank, Naomi Gold-
stein, Sadie Lederman Kash, Sheldon
(Buddy) Manson, Hinde Goldstein
Rapaport, Sylvan Rapaport, Wilbert
Simkovitz, Paul Wasser, Anna Daitch
Weiner and Bernard Zupnitske.
We still need many hundreds more
books from all the various schools. If
anyone wishes to donate to the collec-
tion, call (248) 851-0517 or (248)
well as saturated fats.
Low-carb diets may be the fad du
jour, but vegetarianism is on the
rise.
-
The article does say, "There are
countless reasons why a diet that is
low in all carbohydrates (complex
included) is downright dangerous,"
but does not spell them out. Besides
the dangers of saturated fat to your
heart and circulatory system and the
ill effects from lack of fiber on your
bowels, there are even more reasons to
be concerned. According to Dr. John
McDougall, high protein load can
cause damage to the liver and kidneys,
as well as -serious metabolic changes
that lead to bone loss and kidney
stones.
Best Wishes
On Acquisition
"
661-8515.
Gerald Cook, co-chair,
Marc D. Manson, co-chair,
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan
West Bloomfield
Cutting Carbs
Isn't Living Well
A recent Living Well article ("Cutting
Garbs," Feb. 11) first gives a number
of cautions about going on high-pro-
tein diets like Atkins and the Zone,
and then goes on to give examples of
low-carbohydrate recipes that are
modified to make them a bit more
healthy.
JVNA (Jewish Vegetarians of
North America) and vegetarian
nutrition sources like VRG (the Veg-
etarian Resource Group) would
agree with the cautions given in the
article. A vegetarian diet also needs
to be balanced and should include
whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
A healthy vegetarian diet would also
avoid refined flours and sugars, as
Maida Genser
Royal Oak
DOUBLE WRONG
on page 42
Mazel toy to Arthur Horwitz on his
acquisition of the Jewish News
("Giants Come In All Shapes and
Sizes," Feb. 11). We are very proud of
you. The Jewish News has the best at
its helm!
Sheri and Jeffrey Devries
West Bloomfield
Good Wishes
Abounding
Mazel toy and best wishes to Arthur
Horwitz and his entire staff on his
LETTERS
on page 44
3/3
2000
41