Monday evening, following a late coffee with a couple of friends at Orna and Ella's on Sheinkin Street, I was stopped by a young woman standing just outside the sex shop across the street from the restaurant. She was wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard. "Excuse me," she said politely, "Would you be interested in attending a free 30-minute lecture on sexuality at the sex shop?"

Interesting. Usually I get stopped by the Greenpeace people. I told the young woman that 30 minutes didn't seem like a very long time to cover such a big topic - but she was oblivious to my irony. She assured me, quite earnestly, that half an hour would be long enough.

Sexuality seems to be quite the hot topic around here lately. Channel 8, a cable TV station, is currently broadcasting a multi-segment documentary called "More Israeli Sex," - a follow-up to last year's successful series called - wait for it - "Israeli Sex." The first series was an exploration of the evolving history of Israeli sexual mores, and how they are affected by uniquely Israeli circumstances; the second is about current attitudes to everything from romance to pornography to sex toys. Both series are actually quite well done - they offer a lot of information, insight and food for thought. I particularly enjoyed the last episode, about the commercialization of sex in Israel.

Since commercial television came to Israel only just over a decade ago, the idea that "sex sells" just about anything is relatively new. The advertising agencies, of course, have caught on quickly. Parents, however, have not. There are few expressions of outrage at the blatant use of sex to market products to pre-teens. My friend Diana told me that, at a recent event at her 10 year-old twin daughters' school, half the girls showed up in low-cut jeans revealing g-string underwear, belly-baring tops and a face covered in makeup. Another friend, who lives in a very posh North Tel Aviv suburb, told me that her 6 year-old daughter won't wear skirts to school anymore - because "the popular girls" had told her she had fat legs. P.S. the child is a beanpole.

Tantric sex has become very much the "in" topic, too. There is even an Israeli-born guru, Tyohar (born Moshe Kastiel), who gained enlightenment - and a new name to boot - at the hugely popular Osho Ashram in Pune, India. You know - the one that requires all program participants to take an on-the-spot HIV test at the entrance to the ashram.

Tyohar now has his own shop, called Pacha Mama, located in the jungle of Costa Rica, where he lives with his long-time French-Canadian girlfriend and hosts visitors from all over the world. The place is, according to all accounts, paradise. A documentary film about Tyohar and his ashram, made by an Israeli journalist, has been shown several times on Channel 8, and multi-page feature stories have been written about him in the Israeli press. He was even interviewed by Yair Lapid (son of Shinui party leader Yosef "Tommy" Lapid), on his popular TV interview show.

Tyohar comes to Israel quite frequently, to lead satsangs (guru-speak for Q&A) and to DJ at trance parties. He used to be a popular DJ in Goa, when he was still Moshe; now he uses trance music as a tool for reaching enlightenment. According to an email I just received, Tyohar will be here in late September, and during his visit he intends to lead a workshop at a tantra ashram in the Negev.

The last time I saw Tyohar was the night before the coalition forces invaded Iraq. About 150 people sat on the floor of a large room at a school of Chinese medicine, facing Tyohar - who was dressed in white, seated on a dais, looking beatific and and speaking in soft, measured tones. The issue he was trying to address was the importance of avoiding dualism, of being at peace with oneself and one's environment.

After Tyohar had spoken on the topic for about 15 minutes, a guy with a gold loop in one ear, who was lounging, cat-like, on a cushion, said, "Yeah, but listen man, it's like this. I just came back from 10 days on a beach in the Sinai. I lay in the sun, I swam, I sat around playing the guitar and drinking mint tea and I was at peace, you know? Then I got back to Tel Aviv and I had to rush to the Home Depot to buy plastic sheeting and rolls of tape to make a sealed room in my apartment [in case of a chemical attack], and some asshole cut me off when I was driving and I just wanted to shove the steering wheel down his fucking throat! You know what I mean?"

The audience burst into laughter. Tyohar, I was amused to note, was not amused.