Juvenile Sexuality, Kabbalah, and Catholic Reformation in Italy

Download or read book Juvenile Sexuality, Kabbalah, and Catholic Reformation in Italy written by Roni Weinstein and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2009-09-24 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the first publication of the tract Tiferet Bahurim (The Glory of Youth) which was written in the mid-seventeenth century by R. Pinhas Barukh ben Pelatiyah Monselic in Ferrara, Italy. The tract was written as a guide for young men about to marry regarding their family life and their sexual deportment. By analyzing the Tiferet Bahurim Roni Weinstein addresses the following questions: What was the source of the growing interest in sexuality, and controlling juvenile sexuality? How is this tract related to centuries-old Jewish ethical literature, as well as literature in contemporary Catholic Italy? Is the Tiferet Bahurim part of the religious and cultural fermentation of the Counter-Reformation? Finally, did Jewish mysticism and pietism of Kabbalah tradition play a role in the composition of this tract?