June 2022

By David BigmanOver the past hundred years, as medical knowledge has advanced, it became clear that infertility was a problem among a small percentage of the halakhically observant population. Jewish families were being denied offspring solely because of their observance of the Torah commandments of taharat hamishpaḥah (family purity laws). This problem has been discussed […]

By Ruth Balinsky Friedman In March 2016, I decided to “go public” with my fertility journey. This decision was born mostly out of a lurking feeling of dishonesty. Ohev Sholom, the National Synagogue, in Washington, D.C., where I have served since 2013, had been invited to participate in Yesh Tikva’s Infertility Awareness Shabbat, which is

By Tricia Anbinder and Elana Frank A staggering one in eight couples will experience challenges in achieving and maintaining pregnancy. Some studies report that the number is closer to one in six. At these rates, it is highly likely that you or someone you know has struggled with this problem—whether you know it or not.

By Deborah Wenger Let me start by acknowledging my privilege. I am lucky to live in a temperate climate, where outdoor gatherings have not been out of the question for most of the COVID-19 era. The shul I belong to has a large campus, so finding space for outdoor meetings has not been difficult. And

By Barbara Trainin Blank Expectations don’t always tally with reality.COVID-19 may have closed mikva’ot for a time—or, at the very least, reduced their usage, as women feared becoming infected. In particular, potential immersees frequently asked how it could be that using the same pools of water for person after person would be sanitary and not

By Stephanie L. Stillman My first encounter with the mikveh was at 27, when I met with my converting beit din for the last time. I had never seen the mikveh before I immersed that day, having only heard bubbe meises from my unmarried female friends. Unsure of what to expect, I found myself strangely

By Devorah SilvermanThe COVID-19 pandemic was devastating. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, and millions experienced isolation and social recessions from which it will take years to recover. If there is a silver lining for the women of Sharsheret, it is that we are emerging with an even sharper mission, understanding how we can

By Michelle Shain“Shabbat Morning Groups for Our Children Are Back … this Shabbat!” read the subject line of an email from my synagogue sent a few months ago, in May 2021. After more than 14 months of spending Shabbat mornings at home with my four children, the prospect of going back to shul filled me

By Meira E. Schneider-AtikWhen COVID-19 broke out, most mikva’ot closed, but many women’s mikva’ot remained open. I remember hearing some who were angry that women’s mikva’ot weren’t closing as well, saying that it was too much of a risk for women to go out and that rabbis should find kulot (leniencies). I didn’t agree then,

By Pam ScheiningerAs I sat down to write this article, I kept coming back to the thought, “What do I have to say about COVID that has not already been said?” The global experience of COVID, and the myriad ways it has affected us individually and communally, have been analyzed and expounded upon by philosophers,