It is a blessing to create and carry life in our bodies. Giving birth is one of life’s great privileges. It allows us to partner with the divine in the act of creation. Historically, Judaism provided scant opportunity to mark this occasion. Here, we offer prayers and rituals for celebrating this unique and wondrous experience.
A fanciful account, based on the Zohar, a mystical text, describing a baby’s life in the womb, during which time, a candle burns over the baby’s head enabling her to see from one end of the universe to the other and the angels teach her all of Torah.
A prayer to be said by a group of friends or family for a woman close to giving birth using the symbolic red thread from Rachel’s Tomb
Describes the customs of Sephardic Jews who celebrated a woman’s first pregnancy by cutting the swaddling clothes at a festive gathering of women
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.
From an Italian collection of 18th century prayers for married women written by Dr. Giuseppe Cohen and presented to his bride as a wedding gift
A ritual to be performed in a women’s group focusing on the new mother
A poem that likens the womb’s circles to other circles within Judaism
A ceremony for a woman about to give birth, based on the Navajo custom of the blessingway
To be read at a Simchat Bat or Bris by the mother who has just given birth
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