The sultry, inviting tones of Norah Jones filled the second-floor lounge of the Hillel House last Tuesday night, setting the mood for what would be a deep, intimate conversation about sex with the rabbi.
In what potentially could have been an awkward hour-long group conversation with Rabbi Avi Heller, Hillel’s new rabbi handled the topic with grace and an impressive command of the material -– not to say there weren’t a few snickers during the night.
If there was one thing students could take from the lecture, it was that sex stands as an essential part of Jewish life. “Sex is like a nuclear reactor,� Heller said, explaining that when sex occurs in marriage, it is a wonderful, spiritual thing. But, if it’s performed under the wrong circumstances, “it’s like Chernobyl.�
While the talk explored the historical aspects of sex in Judaism, the conversation was brought to the practicality of applying Jewish law to modern times. One student asked Heller how young Jewish adults are expected to understand how they are expected to abstain from sex until marriage. Heller said there is no real way to cope with it; it’s just the way things are.