Though the Torah has rigid rules on everything from eating cheeseburgers to turning on the lights during the sabbath, according to the texts of Judaism, the Torah doesn’t say anything about flicking another type of switch.
Earlier this week, Miriam Ezagui, a Labor and Delivery nurse who has garnered upwards of 1.5 million followers with her vlogs about Judaism and life as an Orthodox Jew, took to TikTok to answer a fan’s question on what the Torah says – and more notably, doesn’t say – when it comes to pleasuring oneself.
“In the Torah, it says that men are not allowed to spill their seed, but there’s no prohibition against women,” Ezagui explained in her now-viral video, which amassed more than 1.6 million views.
“This is one of the areas that when people say that religion oppresses women I laugh to myself,” she continued, before lip-syncing along the intro to TikTok’s viral “how I love being a woman!” sound. Same, Miriam. Same.
Yet it seems Ezagui is far from alone – over the past several years, the subject of women getting it on solo style has emerged as a hot-button (no pun intended) issue in Jewish circles – especially to couples therapist Max Grunberg.
Often condemned as “immoral” in some Orthodox communities per the Times of Israel, Grunberg emerged as a vocal and controversial advocate for female masturbation, even describing it as a means of creating “happier people and a better world” (once again, same).
“It is my mission to make as many people as possible realize that women have the right to sexual pleasure,“ Grunberg told the outlet back in 2013, before arguing that “in Jewish tradition, female masturbation is allowed when it’s for exploring oneself and one’s sexual feelings.”
“It is valuable for gaining knowledge about the different parts of your anatomy through touch, which is needed to be a sexually knowledgeable woman in order to communicate without fear your sexual needs to your partner,” he continued.
Clearly, the men who wrote the Torah were not concerned for women and their needs, and two thousand some odd years later, we thank them.
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