Opening of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions at the JMB
Press Release
Press Release, Thu 16 May 2024
On 17 May 2024, the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions will open at the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB). Through objects drawn from two thousand years of history, the show presents Jewish debates about sexuality and questions that have been discussed within Judaism for many centuries. What is the role of sexuality in Jewish life and thinking? What positions are found in traditional texts and modern writings, what attitudes to LGBTQ+ people? How do the lives of Orthodox Jewish women and men differ from those of their liberal counterparts when it comes to sex? The JMB’s exhibition invites visitors to explore these questions – and more.
- Kontakt
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Dr. Margret Karsch
Press Officer
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.de - Address
Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
Hetty Berg, Director of the JMB, explains: “Sexuality is a universal theme – and we illuminate the crucial significance of sexuality in Judaism. We want to offer a diversity of possible reference points: for different generations and independently of individual life experiences and backgrounds.” But visitors to the exhibition will not find a unified picture of sexuality in Judaism, warns Hetty Berg: “The exhibition reveals the multiplicity of Jewish attitudes to sexuality. Through this approach, the JMB challenges widespread clichés about Jewish life context.”
Judaism rarely speaks with a single voice on any issue, and opinions on sexuality are no exception. Talmudic scholars and contemporary artists, medieval philosophers and modern sex therapists, mystical thinkers and TikTok influencers – all champion different views of sexuality, and all have their voices heard in this exhibition.
The exhibition’s curator, Miriam Goldmann, sets out the spectrum of themes: “Marriage and procreation play a central role, as does sexual desire and the possibility – from a present-day perspective – of controlling it. The exhibits question social norms, indicate sexual taboos, and suggest what sexuality can mean for each individual’s identity. We also illustrate the eroticism that is inherent to spirituality, using examples from ritual, art, and literature. The exhibition opens up a panorama of different Jewish attitudes and shows how present-day Jewish positions on sexuality relate to traditional debates.”
Exhibits from the JMB’s own collection and loans from public and private collections in Europe, Israel, and North America bring to life the heterogeneity of these standpoints. Visitors will see sculptures, rabbinic writings, films, photographs, TikTok videos, ritual objects, and poems. The artists exhibited include Judy Chicago, R. B. Kitaj, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Lee Lozano, Boris Lurie, Stéphane Mandelbaum, Benyamin Reich, and Yona Wallach.
Exhibition dates | 17 May–6 October 2024 |
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Location | Jewish Museum Berlin, Old Building, Level 1 |
Admission | 10 € (reduced rate 4 €) |
The exhibition is presented in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Amsterdam. A catalog is published by Hirmer Verlag in a German and an English version.
For the latest information on the exhibition, visit:
Press Kit
Download (PDF / 1.12 MB / in English)Current press images for attributed use
![Two naked people sit on brown earth in front of a yellow horizon: a woman with long hair holds a baby, a man sits with his back to the viewer.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/pressebild_Lesser_Ury_Adam_und_Eva.jpg?itok=vchf_jtM)
Lesser Ury, Adam und Eva mit ihrem Erstgeborenen, 1896, Oil on canvas; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 977.48 KB / in English and German)![Painting: two human figures in red kissing each other, one with female genitalia and a yellow wing, one with male genitalia, a white beard and a blue wing.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_Kitaj_Nose_to_Nose-galleryimage.jpg?itok=-zCOQM03)
R.B. Kitaj, Nose to Nose (Los Angeles Series #24), 2003, oil on canvas; R.B. Kitaj Estate, courtesy Piano Nobile, London © The Estate of R.B. Kitaj
Download (ZIP / 962.86 KB / in English and German)![Artwork with synagogue space and curtain, behind which two women are having sex, with the word Kadesh in Hebrew letters in the cupola.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_dorothea-moerman_holy-galleryimage.jpg?itok=Di_7bMwG)
Dorothea Moerman, Holy, 2023, Linoprint; courtesy of the artist
![Two men in the pose of iconic Jewish wedding ceremonies, one slipping a ring over the finger of the other.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_Yitzchak_Woolf_A_Jewish_Wedding_galleryimage.jpg?itok=KphlKjb_)
Yitzchak Woolf, A Jewish Wedding, 2008, Exhibition print; courtesy of the artist
Download (ZIP / 1.14 MB / in English and German)![Pink and red artwork with a stylized pelvis, small embryos, dots and paper flowers.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_andi_laVine_arnovitz_be_fruitful_and_multiply_galleryimage.jpg?itok=R8HNhEyS)
Andi LaVine Arnovitz, Be Fruitful and Multiply, 2019, watercalor, paper, thread on LED box; courtesy of the artist, photo: Issac Fisch
Download (ZIP / 1.06 MB / in English and German)![Terracotta figure with hands under the round breasts and round vulva.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_Fruchtbarkeitsstatuette_Syrien_galleryimage.jpg?itok=y3_xkM27)
Fertility Figurine, Syria, Bronze Age, terracotta; MAA3908 National Maritime Museum, Haifa
Download (ZIP / 976.21 KB / in English and German)![A woman with a headscarf and a man with temple curls and shtreimel sit on a bed laughing and holding hands.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/Benyamin%20Reich_Untitled_Divine_connection.jpg?itok=c5-O9-lJ)
Benyamin Reich, Untitled (from series Divine connection), 2005, photograph; courtesy of the artist © Benyamin Reich, Berlin
(HighRes on request)
![A naked man lies sideways on a bed, in his arms the abdomen and legs of a naked woman lying on her back.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_elinor-carucci_Eran-and-I_Midlife_galleryimage.jpg?itok=Lu02R-2e)
Elinor Carucci, “Eran and I, 2016” from the 'Midlife' series, Exhibition print; Elinor Carucci and Edwynn Houk Gallery
Download (ZIP / 1.15 MB / in English and German)![A person wrapped in paper printed with Hebrew letters lies on a dark, wrinkled sheet.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_susan-kaplow_wrestling-with-leviticus-galleryimage.jpg?itok=vrAprGwZ)
Susan Kaplow, Wrestling with Leviticus, 2012, Exhibition print; courtesy of the artist. No reproduction without express permission from Susan Kaplow
For the use of this image please contact presse@jmberlin.de
![12 tiles with the face of the same blonde woman and the title of the video behind it, e.g. Sukkah and several for Ketubot.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/sex_Miriam_Anzovin_DafReactions_galleryimage.jpg?itok=9Q9mupq3)
Miriam Anzovin, #DafReactions, Videos, 2021 – 2022, https://www.youtube.com/@MiriamAnzovin; films courtesy of Miriam Anzovin
Download (ZIP / 778.97 KB / in English and German)View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions
![A large ball of crocheted body parts hangs from the ceiling of the glass courtyard. The ball consists of pink, purple, brown and white crocheted eyes, penises, breasts and bones.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/08-sex-tumtum-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=aRiuIPOm)
Tumtum by Gil Yefman in the glass courtyard of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 720.42 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, a glass display case stands in the middle of the room, colorful pictures hang on the walls.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/01-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=TfWHGAXL)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 483.33 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, shows displays with colorful illustrations and wall texts.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/02-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=qH3TrYdw)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 752 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, on the left in the room is a sculpture in a display case, on the right hangs a painting on the wall.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/03-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=p-NsGWZT)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 752 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, a woman stands in front of a display case containing orange figures.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/04-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=N-ocO9EB)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 907.76 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, a woman stands in front of a wall on which a painting hangs on the left and a photograph on the right.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/05-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=Hr89yOKu)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 937.41 KB / in English and German)![Exhibition view, shows a photograph on the left wall, in the middle of the room is a display case with a small figure.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/06-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=rXyYm71F)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 477.33 KB / in English and German)![View into the exhibition space, 12 colorful illustrations hang on the left wall, a music video is projected onto the right wall.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/07-sex-raumansicht-pressedownload-galleryimage.jpg?itok=d4aKvq5Q)
View of the exhibition Sex: Jewish Positions; Jewish Museum Berlin
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Download (ZIP / 420.78 KB / in English and German)