The Jewish “Pleasure Principle”

Sexual pleasure. 

Does religion seek to minimize pleasure?  This message was communicated in the recent Netflix documentary “The Principles of Pleasure” 

And to be honest, you don’t have to look hard to find Jewish sources, some in the Talmud, that do just that. 

Then again, there are also sources, some mystical, that glorify (marital) sexual pleasure and satisfaction, and consider sex to be a holy mitzvah.

Then there is the approach that says that humans have sex, for pleasure as well as procreation. Jews are human so they have sex too. But being Jewish means doing things intentionally and differently than the pagans, with  rules, and some level of restraint. As far as the question of how much pleasure and sex is “too much”? Well, as the Rambam says, take the middle ground. 

In this  Intimate Judaism podcast episode, Rabbi Scott Kahn objects to those claiming a singular Jewish approach to sexuality, because ignoring the more sexually ascetic sources, or for that matter, only citing these sources, would be disingenuous. 

But I hope it’s clear that our podcast, which is meant to open up the conversation about sex and Judaism, also empowers couples to pursue marital and sexual satisfaction. Experiencing and expressing pleasure requires vulnerability, which is key to enhancing emotional and physical intimacy. 

Listen here.