Creativity And Sexuality: A Kabbalistic PerspectiveJudaism openly recognizes, as an integral part of human nature, the enigmatic relationship between yetzer, or physical desire, and yetzirah, or spiritual creativity. Creativity and Sexuality, written as a fictional dialogue, clearly delineates the psychic interdependence of these two drives, as well as the integration of the concepts as they are defined by both Jewish mysticism and modern psychology. Mordechai Rotenberg is interested in the impact of religion on the psychology of everyday life. He was prompted to write Creativity and Sexuality by the popularity of writings that explore Jewish texts on the subject of sexuality from a historical or literary point of view, but that do not hesitate to include psychological evaluations based on popular secondary psychological concepts. This work seeks to provide an accurate psychological analysis of sexuality and spirituality from a Jewish mystical perspective. As such, it both reconstructs the interdisciplinary bridge between Judaism and psychology and deconstructs some exegetical traditions. The goal is to present new paradigmatic options, which may help modern society struggle more efficiently with its sexuality. Ultimately, the author sees physical desire and spiritual creativity as a regulative continuum. People learn how to spend the tremendous power of energy that the sexual yetzer produces not only on physical sex, but on the spiritual yetzirah. In an introduction written especially for this new edition, the author explains the continuing relevance of Creativity and Sexuality, and the ongoing relationship between sexual desire and a healthy spiritual self-fulfillment. This volume will be of interest to students of Judaism, psychology, mysticism, and sexuality. |
From inside the book
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... Jewish Mother " The Creative Pendulum : Augustine , Kierkegaard , and Kafka 128 " Phallocratic Aggressertiveness ” and Masochism 134 The Theory of “ Vaginal Envy ” 139 The " Jewish Mother " and " Creative Neurosis " 143 7 The " Yetzer ...
... Jewish ethical tradition to foster a balancing energy system , why does it appear that ultra - Ortho- dox education seems to repress all forms of sexual expression ? It is thus important to stress at the outset that the current study ...
... Jews precede the enactment of a commandment or the uttering of a blessing with the following statement : " For the sake ... Jewish ethics . Accordingly , it is highly possible that this Hasidic Jew , who is accustomed to say the L'shem ...
... ( Jewish Theological Semi- nary , 2004 ) that those adolescents who courted their mates via com- mon spiritual activities reported feelings of growth in their creative life , while those who confined their relationship with the opposite ...
... Jewish literature there is no erotic book like the Zohar . . . in which there is not even one page devoid of eros . The aspiration for erotic union is the essence of this book , an aspiration that nourishes the entire cosmos , because ...
Contents
Creation and Procreation | 1 |
Contraction and Emanation as Reading and Writing | 21 |
The Yetzer and Romantic Imagination | 49 |
Manic Disorder versus Creative Ecstasy | 62 |
Romantic Flirting versus Sexual Harassment | 79 |
Harassing the Flirter | 89 |
Ecstatic Prophecy and Imagination | 105 |
The YetzerYetzira Genre and the Musar Movement | 121 |
The Theory of Vaginal Envy | 139 |
The Yetzer in the Sociopsychological Therapy Room | 157 |
Bibliography | 171 |
Kierkegaards Seduction Style 86 | 179 |