God, Sex, and Women of the Bible: Discovering Our Sensual, Spiritual Selves

Combining personal anecdotes with stories from women in her workshops, Labowitz, a rabbi at Temple Adath-Or in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., engages in a series of provocative reinterpretations of biblical stories about women. Labowitz selects eight women--Leah, Rachel, Eve, Jochebed, Deborah, Miriam, the prophet's widow and Naomi--from the Bible whose lives represent the stages of a woman's life and sexuality. As Labowitz retells each of these women's stories, she weaves into her account passages from Jewish mystical texts--the Kabbalah and Zohar--and stories from goddess myths that parallel the lives of these biblical women. In addition, Labowitz relies on her deep understanding of Hebrew to raise questions about inconsistencies in traditional translations that, she says, have hidden the power of women's lives. For example, she argues that the word Marah, the Hebrew form of Miriam, can mean either ""bitter"" or ""to fly or soar,"" and that the traditional translations present Miriam as an embittered woman. Labowitz also encourages women to love God with their bodies just as they love God with their souls and minds. In her reading of the story of Leah, Labowitz introduces a young woman whose ""sexual exploration was an integral part of her connection with the Divine power in the universe."" Labowitz contends that Leah's trading herbs with her sister, Rachel, for a night in bed with Rachel's husband, Jacob, was Leah's recognition that, through Jacob, she could connect to the divine. Later chapters demonstrate ways that menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause offer powerful moments in which women can sensually and spiritually connect with God. Labowitz's penetrating readings provide fresh insights into oft-told biblical tales. (Oct.)