'Kosher Sex' Sells
In his book, Kosher Sex, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says sexual passion and intimacy should co-exist, not cancel each other out.
"Kosher Sex has you remembering each othersÂ' names the morning after the act. ItÂ's basically a recipe for passion and intimacy,Â" Boteach told CBS This MorningÂ's Jane Robelot.
The book sold 65,000 copies in one week in the United States. The rabbi said the book is written for everybody, not just Jews.
Â"I always say that even for the uncircumcised, Kosher Sex is a cut above. Notwithstanding your religious persuasion, it is a form of knowledge,Â" Boteach explained.
Boteach says there are four conditions necessary for a great sexual relationship:
- Total nakedness — lack of inhibition - couples should make love in the dark;
- Sensuality— employ all our senses in making love - should not be based on sight only;
- Eroticism—couples should forbid themselves from having sex for 12 days a month;
- Real intimacy — synthesis of passion and unity
Â"So many women today want to be so thin when really, to the sense of touch, having a bit of flesh is so much more pleasing. WeÂ're catering to the eyes not to the body,Â" Boteach said.
Boteach added that eroticism is about forbiddenness and distance.
"Many couples have the greatest sex after a geographic separation or even after the emotional separation of an argument," the rabbi said.
Some DonÂ'ts in BoteachÂ's book:
- DonÂ't fantasize about someone else when you are making love to your spouse;
- DonÂ't masturbate — autoeroticism inhibits intimacy;
- DonÂ't use pornographic material — it leads to erotic boredom.
Boteach says he also approves of oral sex.
Although critics have attacked Kosher Sex for not being based on Jewish law, Boteach says he gets letters every day from ultra-orthodox Jews worldwide thanking him for writing his book.