When Rebecca was pregnant with the twins, Jacob and Esau, they struggled in her belly and caused her great pain. She was having so much difficulty, that she appealed to G-d “If this be so, why am I thus?” This verse can be interpreted to mean, “This is an amazing blessing you gave to me. So why am I suffering?” In this simple cry of a righteous woman, we can perhaps hear ourselves and feel Hashem’s mercy.
There is a wealth of information about pregnancy these days, with enough volumes to fill entire sections of bookstores. However, what does Judaism have to say about pregnancy? And more specifically, what do Jewish women, from various walks of life, have to say about their thoughts, fears and joy during pregnancy and childbirth?
Chana Weisberg’s book, Expecting Miracles, (Urim Publications) allows Jewish women to speak for themselves about these experiences. Based on interviews with 24 religious women, Expecting Miracles covers a various topics, including infertility, large families, complications during pregnancy and birth, the power of prayer and meditation, the spiritual life of the mother and fetus, natural and traditional childbirth etc…The candor with which these women share their experiences is striking, and the anonymity of most of the interviewees encouraged them to share insights and experiences that are most often private. This book is a great aid to a pregnant woman, or anyone who wants to conceive or has conceived. For those of us who identify with Rebecca’s simple question, we know that, in addition to getting strength from Above, we are not alone, but have “friends” in these pages who understand.
My only two criticisms concerning the book are, first of all, that the geographical sampling is confined to the Land of Israel, particularly Jerusalem. I would have preferred to hear from Jewish women in various countries (particularly since they may have fewer resources, Jewishly, than women in Eretz Yisroel. It would have been interesting to hear about these challenges). Also, it seemed that the majority of the women interviewed were ambivalent about the use of pain relief during childbirth. In my own experience, (and I am not a labor coach or a nurse) I find that most women are more open to the idea of traditional pain relief methods, such as epidurals, if necessary. However, these are minor questions concerning a book which was immensely helpful in giving me strength to face pregnancy. I enthusiastically recommend this book, which can be found in Judaica stores or www.UrimPublications.com, to any woman.