TEL AVIV — Nearly 20 years after celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach penned “Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy,” his daughter, Chana Boteach, 28, has launched the world's first "kosher" sex store, giving intimacy in Orthodox communities a fresh, new look.
Opened last month in Tel Aviv, the store has since welcomed customers reportedly "from all walks of life" through its doors to peruse the collection of “elegant and tasteful” toys, as curated by Boteach.
Like her father's self-help book, which applied Jewish wisdom to philosophies on sex, marriage and relationships, Boteach's store similarly reimagines sexuality through a distinctly Orthodox Jewish lens.
She told Israel's Haaretz magazine, “‘Kosher Sex’ is really about recapturing sex and reclaiming it as what it was supposed to be initially, which is to create intimacy between two people," and cited a quote from Genesis as a guiding motto for the store.
"'Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh,' Genesis 2:24. That’s true intimacy when you become one,” Boteach said. “That’s what we really promote.”
While geared towards married couples, Boteach says that all are welcome in Kosher Sex, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation.
“Anyone who believes in commitment and bringing love into this world and being intimate with someone and wants to learn — they’re welcome here,” she said.
Boteach shares the store space with her friend Christina Dickens, who sells vintage and sustainable denim under the label Foreign Denim.
Although sex toys and high-end vintage denim seems like an odd match, Boteach insists that the pairing works to the store's advantage.
“I think the combination became a really good concept,” she said, explaining that the clothing section often gives people an excuse to wander in and peruse without feeling intimidated or immodest.
A heartwarming story to come from Boteach's endeavor concerns an elderly Jewish man who meandered in hoping to buy a vibrator for his wife in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.
“I thought he was lost,” she recalled. “But no, he was in the right place. We have something for everybody.”
To visit the store online, click here.
Image source: Haaretz.com
