Historically, Judaism has offered little for women and men suffering with the pain of infertility. Thankfully, over the last 25 years, Jewish women and men have transformed the canon of Jewish ritual. Jewish women have both created new rituals grounded in traditional practices and language and unearthed prayers and rituals from our past written by and for women, responding to their lives and needs. Jewish men have also given voice to their own struggles with infertility through the creation of new rituals and blessings that acknowledge their shared pain.
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A song on longing for a child
Traditional blessings for mikveh immersion
What is a Mikveh? An introduction to Jewish ritual bath.
A poem mourning the loss of one’s uterus and exalting the skill of the surgeon
A prayer for strength and blessings to be recited before entering the mikveh
It is customary for pregnant women and women seeking to become pregnant to offer prayers to Rachel, Judaism’s mater dolorosa. Specifically, women visit Rachel’s tomb in Bethlehem, wrap a red cord around the tomb, then cut it into smaller pieces which they tie around their own wrists. This ritual for a pregnant woman is based on this custom.
A prayer that may be said before a medical exam for those undergoing fertility treatment/counseling
The author brings to life the Genesis tale of Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar by locating Sarah and Abraham’s infertility as the central factor motivating the characters’ behavior
This essay on grieving the inability to bear children relates the author’s dialogue with her deceased grandmother about whether she has the permission to mourn
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
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