Wisdom of Love

Rabbi Professor Naftali Rothenberg is a senior research fellow and Jewish Culture and Identity chair at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute who also serves as the town Rabbi of Har Adar, Israel. He has authored and edited ten books.

• Contents:PrefaceIntroduction: Love in the Canonical Literature: Dealing with Cognitive DissonanceSection I: The Androgyne - Unity; Separation; Desire and Unity1. The Androgyne Myth According to Plato 2. Male and Female Unity, Primordial Sin and Rebellion against the Gods3. In the Midrash: Androgynous Adam4. In the Kabbalah: An Eternal/Divine, Spiritual and Human Androgyne5. The Rebirth of the Androgyne: Judah Abravanel Cites Plato and Moses6. Summary: The Power of Myths Section II: A Profile of the Sage of Love1. Introduction: The Philosopher as Sage of Love2. The Love of Rachel3. The Sage of Love A"RescuesA" The Song of Songs4. Practice and Theory in the Wisdom of Love5. The Sage and Temptation 6. Love thy Fellow as the Basis of Human Socialisation7. Optimism out of Love8. Ultimate Love9. The Orchard of Love10. Summary: The Universal SageSection III: The Sage of Unconsummated Love: Judah Abravanel's Dialoghi d'amore1. Introduction: Philo and Sophia2. The Sage's Desire3. Love as a Universal Phenomenon4. The Paradox of Abstract Perception5. Love and Beauty6. When and where was Love Born?7. Unconsummated LoveSection IV: Written by Men for Men: Feminist Revolution and Innovation in the Canonical Sources1. Introduction: Identifying Revolutionary and Innovative Approaches in Cultural Sources2. A Monogamous Message to a Polygamous Culture 3. Onah: The Obligation to Have Sex for Pleasure 4. The Love Relationship as Perfection: The End of Male Exclusivity 5. Summary: Innovation and the NormSection V: Contrast and Harmony in the Love Relationship - On Spirituality and Abstinence1. Introduction: The Dualistic Approach2. Marriage and Intellectual Growth: Help or Hindrance?3. Categorical Rejection: Abstinence is Punishable by Death!4. The Dilemma of Abstinence for Individuals on a High Spiritual Plane5. Moses' Abstinence6. Abstinence as a Precondition for Love in the Philosophy of Rabbi Bahya Ibn Pakuda7. Rabbi Judah Halevy's Rejection of Abstinence8. Summary: Maintaining BalanceBibliographyIndex

"Rabbi Dr. Naftali Rothenberg of the Van Leer Institute of Jerusalem explores another religious approach to these issues in “The Wisdom of Love: Man, Woman and God in Jewish Canonical Literature”. He finds that the Bible, Talmud, Midrash and halacha (Jewish law) devote considerable attention to love and that much of rabbinic tradition treats love’s spiritual and physical aspects without inhibition. His study exposes a cognitive dissonance between what the Jewish canon says and what we expect our holy texts to say. The book celebrates love as a classical rabbinic ideal, and it is as rare as it is refreshing: scholarly, yet eminently readable; spiritual, yet sober."