Fertility and Jewish Law


Book Description

A comprehensive comparative study of Jewish law on contemporary reproductive issues from a gender perspective







The Third Key


Book Description

The pain of infertility is heartbreaking, frightening, and a real test of faith. In this ground-breaking volume, couples can access the information, Torah outlook, and answers they need in a clear, practical manner. Questions raised include: How do we know if there is a problem? How can the Torah be a source of support? What can we expect at the fertility clinic? Where are the side effects of fertility medication? Can one live a fulfilling life without children? This book takes couples down the obstacle-strewn path toward fertility, discussing all factors that encompass difficulty conceiving. Topics discussed include: male fertility testing, IVF, adoption, niddah issues, faith, prayer, dealing with society, when to stop, choosing the right aregiver, producedures on Shabbos, being positive, and much more. This step-by-step, comprehensive guide is an indispensable tool for couples seeking fertility, but it will also be of great interest and benefit to relatives and friends of childless couples, as well as rabbis, therapists, and social workers.




Jewish Law and the New Reproductive Technologies


Book Description

All this presents challenges on religious as well as practical levels. Halakha - Jewish Law and Ethics - has much to say about this. For the past quarter century, discussions on the topic have appeared in Tradition, the Journal of Jewish Thought published by the Rabbinical Council of America. Collected here, they offer the general reader an insight into how classic Jewish Law continues to offer insights into the most contemporary of problems.




Reproducing Jews


Book Description

Explores the debates about new reproductive technologies in Israel and how they fit with Orthodox Jewish laws concerning parentage and Jewish identity.




Jewish Bioethics


Book Description

Presents the discourse in Jewish law and rabbinic literature on bioethical issues, highlighting practical problems in their socio-historical contexts.




And Hannah Wept


Book Description




Women and Water


Book Description

The term Niddah means separation. During her menstrual flow and for several days thereafter, a Jewish woman is considered Niddah -- separate from her husband and unable to practice the sacred rituals of Judaism. Purification in a miqveh (a ritual bath) following her period restores full status as a wife and member of the Jewish community. In the contemporary world, debates about Niddah focus less on the literal exclusion of menstruating women from the synagogue, instead emphasizing relations between husband and wife and the general role of Jewish women in Judaism. Although this has been the law since ancient times, the meaning and practice of Niddah has been widely contested. Women and Water explores how these purity rituals have affected Jewish women across time and place, and shows how their own interpretation of Niddah often conflicted with rabbinic views. These essays also speak to contemporary feminist issues such as shaping women's identity, power relations between women and men, and the role of women in the sacred.




The Jewish Pregnancy Book


Book Description

In addition to information on medical issues, this book features ancient and modern prayers and rituals for each stage of pregnancy, as well as traditional Jewish wisdom on pregnancy.




Women, Birth, and Death in Jewish Law and Practice


Book Description

A sensitive exploration of the development of pivotal life cycle rituals as they touch Jewish women's lives.