Learning to Trust, Lesson 9: Broken Cisterns

Amazing class; I love how thorough Rabbi Kaplan is. Instead of just stating claims, he has gone to such lengths and effort to go right to the source.
I did have a somewhat cynical thought regarding his discussion of intimacy around the 40 minute mark. I concur that the current culture regarding casual intimacy is spiritually damaging, regardless of one's religious affiliation. However, I also wonder if reserving intimacy for marriage could make someone rush into marriage, or if a desperate need for intimacy could obscure an objective evaluation of the person they are marrying. I also don't like the idea of marrying someone merely to have access to intimacy, but wonder if this sometimes happens. In a sense, the decision to then preserve intimacy for marriage because less about waiting for a soul-connection, but gratifying physical desires in a sense that is just as superficial as pre-marital intimacy. How could someone prevent this while still living in alignment with Judaism? Reply