Alef: The NEXT Conversation

07: The Love Issue

This week we introduce Issue #7: The Love Issue

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When we originally wracked our brains about what to call Issue #7 we came up with a strategy that was sure to knock the socks off our readers: call Issue #7 “Sexless Love” and then follow it up with Issue #8, “Loveless Sex.” What could be more interesting for the two weeks leading up to Valentines Day, we thought, than to take the two qualities generally considered in modern society to comprise a healthy relationship, and pull them apart? But as our writers turned to their desks and we to our drawing tables, we all discovered that separating Love from Sex and finding stories with one, but not the other, wasn’t as simple as we had thought.

We decided our best course of action was to simplify it all, which is why Issue #7 is now “The Love Issue.” Love and relationships, we’ve found, figure quite prominently in Judaism. In fact, there’s even a love song, known as “Eishet Chayil” (translated as “Woman of Valor”) that many Jewish husbands sing to their wives during Shabbat. Describing the ideal woman and perfect wife in biblical Judaism, the verses dictate that she be industrious, faithful, strong, and virtuous.

These days, all it takes is a click of a remote or a mouse to see what Love has become for much of our generation. From reality shows like The Bachelor to social-networking sites like Facebook to dating portals like OKCupid and JDate, mainstream notions of Love and how to find it have taken on an entirely new set of characteristics. But as much as we say that love and relationships have changed, perhaps they haven’t changed as much as we imagine. Is finding dates on Match.com really so different from the age-old concept of matchmaking?

Suffice it to say, for the next two weeks we’re going to tackle questions about this most mystical and timeless of concepts: what is love? where do we find it? how it is shaped and guided by our Jewish identities? Take this opportunity to snoop into the diaries of our writers, and join in the conversation yourselves.

-Alef

Photo by jmscottIMD, licensed under Creative Commons.

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The Love Issue Posts:
What Comes First?
Matchmaker of Jewish New York
I’ve Got a Crush on Regina Spektor
Israeli Slang for V-Day
Reverse Celebrity Crush
The Journey, On Tape
Dating Jewish Men
The Interfaith Question
The Best Relationship

Tags: facebook, love, marriage, sex, TV

Posted by Emily.Comisar@birthrightisraelnext.org, Friday, January 15th, 2010, 5:10 pm, The Love Issue.