This book aims to provide the pregnant woman with medical information and spiritual nourishment from the Jewish tradition. While the material is not exclusively Orthodox, there are many prayers and techinot that will be familiar to the reader, as well as a discussion of traditional Jewish folk customs. Also included are prayers and meditations to […]
A few decades ago, an agency that provided housing and other services to Jewish girls and women expecting babies out of wedlock was closed by the umbrella organization that had sponsored it for decades. The apparent reason was that there were no longer any Jews among the agency’s clients. And the apparent reason for this
Jewish Women with Unwanted Pregnancies Have a Place to Turn Read More »
Many readers of this journal may have heard that their grandmother or great-grandmother fasted “alle Montag und Donnerstag” (every Monday and Thursday). This popular Yiddish saying actually reflects an ancient halakhic tradition, namely, the Talmudic “ta’aniyot bahab”—the fasts of bet–hey–bet (Yom bet is Monday and Yom hey is Thursday)—that were first associated with prayer for
Women and Asceticism in the Talmudic Tradition Read More »
We have all heard about women in Israel being stopped from attending the funerals or burials of their loved ones. Yet, it is clear that in Talmudic times and during much of the Middle Ages women took part in funeral processions. This article focuses on the development of the tradition for them not to attend
Women, Funerals, and Cemeteries Read More »
The body in our culture has become a dumping ground for a broad spectrum of emotional experiences and anxieties, and a concrete, socially sanctioned way of expressing self-doubts and existential angst. Many women live just under the radar of full-blown eating disorders as unhealthy eating behaviors have become normative, and perspectives on the female body
Food for Thought: Eating Disorders and the Jewish Community Read More »
For me, the brit of my firstborn son was, first of all, a celebration of the start of my family. I didn’t have a wedding to celebrate: I had never married, and my pregnancy had been achieved using the sperm bank. The beginning of the pregnancy was something too private to celebrate in public. The
A Single Mother by Choice Approaches Brit Read More »
In Fertility and Jewish Law, Dr. Ronit Irshai provides a scholarly and comprehensive review of the halakhic literature on the fertility related topics of contraception, abortion, and artificial reproductive technology (ART). Her clear analysis and explanation of the key issues in each of these sources is commendable. So, too, is her desire to analyze these
Fertility and Jewish Law: Feminist Perspectives on Orthodox Responsa Literature Read More »
“Embracing this new life stage, I see menopause as an indicator of a new era about to emerge— and I rejoice in the wisdom I’ve acquired through the years.” —from the Mayyim Hayyim immersion ceremony upon reaching menopause I first trained as a volunteer mikvah guide in the fall of 2006. A twenty-something not-yet-mom with
Celebrating a New Era: Mikvah and Menopause Read More »
Some other societies have paid much more attention to transition than we have, and in doing so they prepared people much more effectively for the experience of being in transition than our society has prepared us. Those societies typically had rituals (we call them “rites of passage”) to help individuals let go of their outlived
Filling in the Traditional Blanks: Creating Rituals for Miscarriage and Weaning Read More »
Debbie Weissman was one of the early activists in changing the status of women in Jewish life, yet few in JOFA today likely know her name—possibly because she made aliyah in 1972, before the internet or cheap long-distance phone calls. She made her mark in Israel in the field of Jewish education, as head of
Memoirs of a Hopeful Pessimist: A Life of Activism through Dialogue Read More »
