Definition:

The Torah commands us, wherever possible, to have children in the first commandment – “Go forth and multiply (Gen. 1:28).

” The most common understanding of this verse is found in the Mishnah, which hosts a discussion between the School of Shammai, who say that this means who should have at least two sons, and the School of Hillel, who say that this means at least one son and one daughter – the view of the School of Hillel prevails.

The occasion of the birth is a very nervous time, so superstition crept into this element of the Jewish life cycle in a way not found at other times of life. Yemenite Jews, for example, would hide sweets under the delivery bed so that evil spirits would be too occupied eating them than disturb the birth. If, God forbid, a child is born unhealthy and is close to death, one superstition is to rename the child so as to confuse the Angel of Death. It is surprising how many Jews will attest to the success of this method. With a similar thought in mind, we do not buy any items for the baby before the birth.

Once the mother gives birth, the Torah indicates that she needs to bring a sin offering. It is understood that this sin offering is to atone for the sin of swearing to her husband that she would never let him near her again! After giving birth, some women go to the mikveh, in fulfillment of Lev. 12:1-5, although this is a problematic passage because of the differentiation between giving birth to a boy and to a girl.

If the child is a healthy boy, they are circumcised on the eighth day and it is at this time when he is given a Hebrew name. Nowadays, many Reform families hold a parallel naming ceremony for a girl as she enters her own covenant with God. If the child is a first-born, the family might also hold a pidyon haben – Redemption of the Firstborn – a moving custom which recognises the permanent change in relationship between the parents.

Matters of pregnancy and birth can be very complicated ethically and socially and if you would like to talk to a Rabbi about this, please do contact us.

Sources:

• The Second Jewish Catalog, Strassfeld & Strassfeld, JPS, Philadelphia, 1976
• Neshama Hadasha (A New Life), ed. Laura Janner-Klausner, Kehillat Kol Haneshama, 1999
• Celebrating Your New Jewish Daughter, Debra Nussbaum Cohen, JPS, Vermont, 2001

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