Michele Klein

When I became pregnant, I wanted to learn more about Jewish customs and superstitions around pregnancy and childbirth, even though I am not religious. The only superstitions I had known were (1) Ashkenazi Jews (such as myself) name children after dead relatives because, if they gave the child the same name as an older person, the Angel of Death might accidentally take the child when the older person's time came. (2) The baby's name isn't revealed until the formal naming, lest Lilith take it.

This meticulously researched book, based on both the Jewish canon and interviews of 200 Israelis, details fascinating traditions spanning over different eras of Judaism, including modern times, and across different communities, including Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Yemenite Jews, and discusses related issues, such as the traditional Jewish preference for sons and relations between Jews and their gentile neighbors.

Part I of the book, Conception, has chapters on (1) Conception, (2) Barrenness, and (3) Contraception and Abortion. Some of the many items that intrigued me were (1) the belief that a man who ensured his wife's enjoyment of sexual relations would be rewarded with a son, (2) stories of divorce permitted in cases of infertility (and the sometimes unexpected consequences), and (3) methods to prevent or terminate pregnancies over the years and the situations in which these were allowed (or occurred without permission), including during the Holocaust.

Part 2 of the book, Pregnancy, covers (1) Pregnancy, including when the soul enters the body, (2) The Experience of pregnancy, such as the longstanding belief "that a pregnant woman's [food] cravings must be satisfied, lest the fetus be harmed" (p. 91), and (3) Pregnancy Loss, the prevention of which was attempted through prayers, amulets, and folk treatments. "For example, they swallowed milk of a pregnant animal in potions for preventing miscarriage, hoping for the magical transference of gravidity. Today, physicians know that a hormone found in a pregnant woman may help to maintain a human pregnancy" (p. 114).

Part 3, Birthing, covers (1) Midwives, including that "Jewish midwives were actually sought by Gentiles in eighteenth century] southern Holland in preference to their own midwives because Jews gave priority to the mother's life in a difficult delivery, whereas local Catholic doctors gave priority to the baby's life" (p. 127), (2) Giving Birth, including whether "the righteous were excluded from God's decree to Eve" (p. 139) that women should bear children in pain (Genesis 3:16), and (3) Death in Childbirth, including a discussion of caesarean sections going as far back as the Mishnah (almost two thousand years ago).

Part 4, Welcoming the Newborn, covers (1) The First Week, including the use of wet nurses, (2) Ceremonies of Welcome: Rituals, including both old commandments, such as circumcision and redemption of the first born, and the newer tradition (dating from the last millennium) or home celebrations for the birth of a daughter, and (3) Blessing and Hopes, including a discussion of naming traditions and how they have differed across time and Jewish communities, and (4) Reflections, including Jewish ethical concerns about modern medical technology.

In summary, this is a fascinating book for Jewish women wishing to know more about their culture's customs, history, folklore, and superstitions around birth. If I can find more copies of this out-of-print book, I will give them as pregnancy gifts to Jewish women. (My mother already claimed my copy of the book.)… (lisätietoja)