Learn how the Momentum Campaign is reconstructing Judaism → 

A Kiss is Just A Kiss?

A Kiss is Just A Kiss? Mystical Union, Personal Salvation, and World Redemption through Kabbalistic Kissing

In this talk from the 2015 Global Day of Jewish Learning, Professor Joel Hecker discusses the diverse meanings ascribed to kissing in Jewish mystical literature. The Zohar, Judaism’s central and canonical mystical text, depicts kissing as the avenue through which an individual unites with God, angels, the Torah, and one’s fellow (same- or other-sex). There is a reciprocal transfer that occurs in a human kissing that leaves two individuals forever changed, infused with holiness and bliss.

A source sheet is attached.

This talk was presented at Temple Beth El in Newark, Delaware on November 15, 2015.

 

Get the latest from Reconstructing Judaism delivered to your inbox.

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

The Reconstructionist Network