Rabbi’s Message: February 18, 2025

Here within the United States, this week marks Repro Shabbat. As a part of the work of the National Council of Jewish Women, Repro Shabbat falls annually during our reading of Parashat Mishpatim and is intended to raise awareness of reproductive rights and Jewish tradition.

Parashat Mishpatim is often referred to as the foundation for Judaism’s approach to reproductive health and rights, in addition to an important underpinning to our understanding of when life begins.

“Geeze, Rabbi,” you might say, “This is starting to seem really political.”

The politicization of bodies - particularly, women’s bodies - is not how I see the world. Unsurprisingly, I see our bodies through a theological lens. 

To me, simply, each of us is b’tzelem Elohim, created in the image of God. Our lives and bodies are sacred. But also, life does not begin at conception within Judaism. In Jewish tradition, life begins at birth, specifically, one’s own ability to take a breath. For anyone who has been pregnant or loved a pregnant person, you know that this leaves a gaping 40(ish) week liminal space. In this space hangs the potential for life; it is a time of both grace and sheer terror. It is a time laden with gift and deep unknowing. 

As a mentally protective measure, we often fool ourselves into thinking that this time is blessed and the uncertainty that we feel has more to do with “which kind of nice Jewish doctor will this child turn out to be”. We ignore the real, existential terror of this time and the breath-taking chasms of its true uncertainty. The fundamental truth causes us to recoil: while we can do our best - eating right, exercising, and taking our vitamins - we have no real control over the bodies in which we live or their capabilities.

There are many of us who are forced to face the horrific realities of what this can mean unveiled and unvarnished. 

During this Repro Shabbat, I want to share with you not the discussion of an unmarried teen that so often gets thrown around in the media as a part of anti-abortion, politicized rhetoric. Rather, I want to share with you the kind of story that I - as one of the rabbis and pastoral guides within our community - actually hear the most about. Specifically, the horrifically raw confrontation of how truly difficult it is for one body to make another, all of the things that can (and do) go wrong, and how reproductive healthcare truly is heartbreakingly life-affirming for so many. This narrative is triggering - after all, one in three women experience miscarriage and many of us are keenly aware that the proverbial Angel of Death often stands hand in hand with the Angel of Life - so I will link it here for you to click through, if it is healthy for you to do so. 

Not to state the obvious, but believing that we are all b’tzelem Elohim means believing that others are a part of that “all”.  It means trusting that when important decisions need to be made for their own bodies, that they will endeavor to hear the Divine spark that resides within them, just as each of us endeavors to do so too. “They” are a part of our “we.” This means trusting that, as each of us navigates the depths of life’s uncertainties and lack of control, each of us will do the best that we can in order to honor that Divine spark. Believing in b’tzelem Elohim means trusting all people with their own bodies, and that includes women. And it means that just as each of us would want access to life affirming care for ourselves, no matter which body parts need that care, so too, do others deserve and have the right to unfettered access to medical care. 

If you are experiencing infertility, loss, grief, or reproductive health challenges, there are Jewish resources available. Please call the office to set up an appointment with Rabbi Lauren.