CONTROVERSY: Did Dr. Ruth Use the Talmud to Justify Rape? (Sarah Breger, The Forward). Well, Dr. Ruth doesn't think so, but she certainly has created a stir. PaleoJudaica is always interested in the use of ancient texts in discussions of modern issues, but Dr. Ruth has complicated matters by not citing any specific reference in the Talmud in her original comments or, at least as far as I can tell, responding to requests for clarification of which passage(s) she had in mind. Julie Wiener at JTA asks: Citing the Talmud, Dr. Ruth questions sexual consent requirements. Is her reading correct? She also was unable to identify Dr. Ruth's passage(s) but she quotes a number of rabbis who cite Talmudic passages to support a different view.
Again, juxtaposed in this morning's Google searches was this: Is Viagra for Women Kosher? Rachel Rosenthal, also in The Forward, does cite a couple of specific stories in the Talmud, although, as you might imagine, their application to the question in the headline is indirect. But the headline question is not the central issue of the essay anyway.
