The Kosher Sutra: Eight Sacred Secrets for Reigniting Desire and Restoring Passion for Life

by Shmuley Boteach

Book Overview

"Rabbi Shmuley penetrates the veil shrouding American sexuality to highlight that eroticism is the thrilling desire to comprehend the mystery of life and attach ourselves to the source of all being."
--Mehmet Oz, M.D., author of YOU: The Owner's Manual The New York Times bestselling author of Kosher Sex and popular radio host on Oprah & Friends, Shmuley Boteach delivers a much needed guide for injecting passion and energy into...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061668354
• ISBN13: 9780061668357
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Restoring passion and desire for life, not just marriages

The Kosher Sutra does a great job of dealing with boredom. Boredom can ruin your job, marriage, and life. Rabbi Shmuley does a great job of helping people find ways to rekindle passion and desire for the important things in life. We make more money than any other country, yet most people are unsatisfied. Couples sleep together in the same bed at night, but prefer to watch television over intimacy. We are pretty much free to live as we please, but we're addicted to celebrities. How did we lose passion for life and come to take everything for granted? How is it that the American media is obsessed with sex, and married people aren't (at least not with each other)? Why is it that we're so content to live an exciting life through people on the TV screen? These are all questions dealt with in this thought provoking book. This is definitely the best book I've read on this subject so far. It's non-judgmental and definitely for Jews and non-Jews alike.

A Philosophy of Contentment

The author does a good job of describing impediments to achieving happiness in a variety of contexts. Some pertinent observations are made; such as, men and women have a dip in happiness during the early 40s. Often, there is no fire in life and people become too materialistic at the expense of simply enjoying life. The author states that the female need for constant attention is unmatched to the male attention span. This area requires accommodation and compromise to create scenarios for closing the perceived deficit of females. Innocence is deemed to be an aphrodisiac. Our attempts at manipulating nature with plastic surgery can be emotionally counterproductive. I see the results of this every day. Some women attempt to reconstruct their physical image and the result detracts from how we've perceived the person for many years or even a lifetime. The author challenges us to do "out of the box things" in order to make life more interesting. This is true in my experience. In some cases, the so called forbidden has charm because of the taboo itself. Much is made of the maxim that "opposites attract". To some extent, this is true because the seemingly opposite behaviors actually complement each other. Finally, the author contrasts a paganistic Tantra with Kabbalah notions which utilize sex and the physical aspect of life to arouse the spiritual dimension in every person. The objective is to uplift the physical with transcendent holiness and spirituality. Overall, the book does a good job of explaining the dynamics of enjoyment of the process of life itself.

LIFE CHANGING!

After seeing Rabbi Shmuley on the Dr. Phil show, I realized that although I thought my husband and I had a pretty decent sex life (definitely NOT "sexless") that we could certainly use some improvement. After reading this book I have to tell you that I had no idea how far off we were in our sex life! This book actually focuses very little on sex, and instead offers insight on something so few people have...intimacy....true intimacy with your spouse. It was such a great read, and the chapters almost flow like poetry. Rabbi Shmuley is an amazing author and counselor! My relationship with my husband has NEVER been better!!!!! THANK YOU RABBI SHMULEY! Also...this book has nothing to do with Judaism, in fact he speaks of several different religions in the book, including Christianity.

Fun and really interesting

Have seen author interviewed on The Early Show a couple of times. He writes just the way he talks and is not only informative but really fun. He has lots to say and is intertaining doing it. Can't recommend it higihly enough. Although it is written by a Rabbi this book is for everyone!!

A unique voice on a topic that needs more attention...

I was lucky enough to get a copy of Rabbi Shmuley's new book "The Kosher Sutra" this week, and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm in a fairly new relationship and not married, but I still found the book extremely valuable. His passion and expertise for this topic is incredible, and comes across in his writing. Page after page, you'll find something to relate to -- I know I did. If you're in a relationship where the bedroom has become a place to watch TV, or in a marriage (like 1 out of 3 Americans) that is completely sexless, you'll find Rabbi Shmuley's thoughtful, friendly and encouraging voice extremely helpful. He provides a really unique and thoughtful take on NOT letting your sex life go by the wayside when life (kids, jobs, etc) gets busy. The premise of his book is not just about sex, though -- it's about restoring passion and the principle of eroticism to your relationships, yes, but also to your entire life. Rabbi Shmuley's voice is a fresh one among a glut of relationship books, and his rises above the rest. I loved this book, and encourage everyone in a relationship (or looking to start a new one) to read this.