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Chapter 6. Sexualizing the Yetzer
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C h a p t e r 6 Sexualizing the Yetzer Thus far, this book has signaled a sharp departure from the prevailing yetzer discourse. Students of the rabbinic yetzer usually discuss it in sexual terms, so much so that “yetzer” has become almost synonymous with “sexuality.”1 In fact, I suspect that the rabbinic yetzer has come to the forefront of scholarship in recent years precisely because of the interest in sexuality and the body in Jewish studies, and particularly in talmudic scholarship. I have discussed the ideological roots of the current scholarly trend elsewhere;2 here I wish to detect the inner rabbinic origins of the sexual yetzer. As the following survey shows, such origins can be found solely in Babylonian literature and mostly in its post-amoraic layers. After mapping this development I suggest locating it in a broader context of the Bavli’s unique sexual ethics. (Much) More of the Same? The Palestinian Yetzer Sexual yetzer appears in a single tannaitic homily, expounding the narrative of Boaz and Ruth on the threshing floor (Sifre Numbers 88). Even in this single source, however, the case is more complicated, as can be seen from the tannaitic list of those biblical heroes who “adjured their yetzer” (Sifre Deuteronomy 33; discussed in Chapter 1 above). In this list, the evil yetzer draws “the righteous” to all manner of sins. It draws Boaz to sex, just as it draws David to murder and Abraham to theft. Other sources discussed above strengthen the conclusion that the sexual context has no privileged standing in tannaitic midrash. In Palestinian amoraic sources the ratio does not change much. Two out of twenty occurrences of yetzer in Genesis Rabba reveal a sexual context,3 and Sexualizing the Yetzer 103 none in Leviticus Rabba4 and Pesikta de-Rav Kahana.5 The sexual context is more popular in the Palestinian Talmud, comprising five out of twenty occurrences, but only when explaining mishnaic laws of separation between the sexes, a context also shared by the Bavli.6 These numbers cannot possibly support the generalization that “yetzer” in rabbinic literature means, by and large, “sexual desire.” The scholarly consensus seems to be a result of the habit of basing conclusions on a selection of sources, combined with the tendency to become very generous when marking content as sexual. This is the case, for example, with the famous homily in Genesis Rabba 9:7 (ed. Theodor-Albeck, 72): Behold, it was very good (Gen 1:31): refers to the good yetzer; and behold ()והנה, it was very good (idem): refers to the evil yetzer. But is evil yetzer good (אתמהא ,טוב רע יצר ?)וכי Rather ()אלא, without the evil yetzer no man would build a house, take a wife or beget children and thus Solomon says: [I have also noted that all labor and skillful enterprise] come from man’s rivalry with his neighbor. (Ecc 4:4) Daniel Boyarin comments on this homily: “Sexuality according to them is neither in itself evil (as apparently many first-century Jews held), nor is it an uncomplicated good, despite the fact that it leads to building the houses, marrying , procreation and eggs!7 It is called the Evil Instinct solely because of its destructive side.”8 Other scholars similarly infer from this homily: “Sexuality, nevertheless, is good.”9 But does “yetzer” here refer solely or even primarily to sexuality? I suspect not. True, the yetzer appears here as an Eros-like figure, but only in the most general sense of a creative drive or force. The homily quotes a verse that explicitly states that envy and competition are the issues at hand, and while they may lead to marriage and procreation, they are also the source of “all labor and skillful enterprise.”10 The appearance of envy as a product of the yetzer should not surprise us, for similar descriptions appear with regard to other dangerous passions and moods such as anger11 and pride.12 Some homilies separate yetzer from sex quite explicitly. Thus Genesis Rabba 20:7: There are four urges ()תשוקות. The urge of a wife is for none but her husband: Your urge shall be to your husband (Gen 3:16); the urge of the [54.224.52.210] Project MUSE (2024-03-30 07:08 GMT) 104 Chapter 6 evil yetzer is for none but Cain and his associates: Its urge is toward you (Gen 4:7); the urge of rains is for none but the land: You have cared for the earth and irrigate it (;ותשוקקיה Ps 65...