Meet The World’s Most Progressive Rabbi

Rabbis are cool, it's an indisputable fact. My aunt & uncle are Jewish, and growing up I would sometimes attend Synagogue and I went to all three of my cousin's Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, and I always envied how much cooler the Rabbis were than the Priests at my stuffy Catholic church. It should come as no surprise, then, that it was a Rabbi that made the first declaration by a male church leader that women's sexual needs should come first.

Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was recently profiled by The Daily Mail (link below), and extolled the virtues of oral sex, S&M, anal, sex toys, and most importantly, a command for all Jewish men to ensure their wife climaxes before they do.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, an Orthodox Jewish author and father-of-nine famed for his uniquely progressive approach, has claimed that in Jewish law, 'a man has to make his wife orgasm before he does.'

Rabbi Boteach, 47 and based in New Jersey, acknowledges that people tend to see Orthodox Jews as 'frigid and inhibited' but told New York Magazine: 'It’s absolutely not true. Among us religious Jews, sex is a big deal.'

He added: 'Oral sex is fine. Anal? Yeah, why not? Sex toys are great. She wants S&M? Sure. What’s wrong with S&M? There’s nothing un-kosher about it.'

Holy hell. I know these ideas are far from surprising to citizens of a progressive planet, but for a leader of an Orthodox faction of a religion to say them is somewhat shocking. What's more, his teachings are backed by scripture.

In regards to the rule Rabbi Boteach mentioned about women being required to orgasm before their husbands, its origins trace back to centuries ago, and its motive is not primarily concerned with pleasure.

The rule is mentioned in the Gemarra - a compendium of discussions had by Jewish scholars between 200 and 500 A.D. - and was a sex tactic believed to encourage the birth of a boy.

I never set foot in a church anymore unless it's for a wedding or a funeral, but this guy might have me reconsidering my position. Rock on Rabbi!

Via The Daily Mail