How sacred is the Synagogue? Can a woman enter this holy place while menstruating? What is more sacred: the space, or the Holy objects within it? In the classic sources of the Halakhah, the Jewish Law, one can find no restrictions on women from entering a synagogue while being in the state of Niddah, the state of menstrual impurity. Nevertheless, in the medieval period, more and more sources indicate that many women avoided going to the synagogue when at this state. Why?  Was this custom created by women, or by men? Where did it originate? The article suggests it was the same religious mentality that pushed Jewish and Christian women to avoid going to their respective Houses of Worship while menstruating. The custom was socially problematic, as it prevented women from participating, at least passively, in the service, and from being a visible part of the community in its weekly reunion. It is suggested that in order to solve this issue, the notion of the sacrality of the synagogue was reduced to some extent in the mind of many Jewish women in the early-modern period. The Sacred was the Torah Scroll, the holiest object in the synagogue, and not so much the Synagogue itself. By doing that, women created a new viable solution: they could enter the synagogue without feeling to be transgressing its sacrality. Their respect to the Holy was shown by them avoiding looking at the Torah Scroll when it was presented to the worshippers.

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Many religious traditions attempt to regulate the sexual practices of their members. Generally, their main tool for doing so is prescribing with whom one may or may not have intimate relations. Forbidden partners might include, for example, members of the same sex, relatives, or people of other religious and ethnic groups. Additional methods for defining how and when intimate relations are permissible are also not unheard of. For example, sexual relations using certain positions or occurring on certain days or hours or in certain places might be declared sinful. The three main Bible-related religious traditions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all have in their toolboxes these various regulatory instruments; many other religious groups use them as well.

Cet article traite des discussions de quelques rabbins ashkénazes et provençaux concernant la possibilité de chauffer l'eau du bain rituel des femmes. La tradition rapporte que Rabbenu Hananel et Rabbenu Tarn, deux autorités incontestables, permettaient cette coutume. Cependant, nombreux furent les experts en droit à douter de ce que cette opinion de Rabbenu Tarn fût vraie, ayant entendu dire qu'il avait interdit cette pratique. Cet article vise à confirmer le caractère certain de cette tradition, en s 'appuyant sur de nouveaux textes.

Sting, aka Gordon Sumner (b. 1951 in Wallsend, close to Newcastle upon Tyne), is a famous songwriter and performer who grew up in a Catholic environment. Although he does not identify as Catholic anymore, the religious images and notions he grew up with appear rather frequently in his work. This article explores examples of religious imagery in his album The Last Ship (2013), and in the musical of the same name based on the album. To date, the musical has been produced from two very different books: a US version by John Logan and Brian Yorkey (2014), and a UK one by Lorne Campbell (2018). The US version includes many religious notions, and in particular, includes a priest as one of its central figures. The UK version has little to no religion in it. The article suggests that each of these versions reflects a certain historical moment in the life of Wallsend, from where, supposedly, the ‘last ship’ was launched.