Arnav

By Elana FrankI have three rambunctious and adorable boys whom I love more than life itself. All were born via the miracle of in vitro fertilization (IVF), or, as my husband calls it, “test tube babies.” Technically, my husband is right because, like it or not, that little glass tube or dish is where the […]

By Daphne Lazar PricePublishing this issue of the JOFA Journal, which focuses on women’s health and reproductive issues, might seem out of touch amid a global pandemic, heightened racial tension, an increasingly polarized society, and rising antisemitism. And still, supporting women’s health and reproductive rights and exploring these fundamental human values through the lens of

By Rivka Cohen Growing up in a Modern Orthodox community, I did not encounter open or positive discourse about female sexuality. Besides the quick basics of reproduction covered in biology class, little or no effort was made to ensure that the women in my all-girls high school were familiar with our bodies, in touch with

America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to TodayBy Pamela S. NadellW.W. Norton, 2019, $28.95Pamela Nadell paints on a broad canvas—American Jewish women’s history—that has been employed before by many fine historians, including Paula Hyman, Charlotte Baum, Sonya Michel, Joyce Antler, and Jenna Weissman Joselit, among others. Yet she fills it in with so

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