Bring on the karma jutra

Most of the books that land on my desk are worthy works of talmudic scholarship or biblical translation. So I could hardly fail to be struck by a recent arrival, The Newlywed's Guide to Physical Intimacy.

Published by Gefen - whose titles are normally along the lines of Ezekiel's Vision or The Secrets of Challah - it is basically a guide to a good sex life for Torah-observant couples.

Once parents handed down such advice to their children, say authors Jennie Rosenfeld and David Ribner. But now they believe that "this is no longer the norm. As a result, many couples are left to face this critical area of their lives with little guidance."

There are some explicit illustrations of sexual positions - contained in a sealed envelope attached with a warning to the inside back cover.