log in | create an account
GET EMAIL UPDATES

Fertility, Pregnancy & Adoption

The longing for children shaped the lives of our matriarchs, and it continues to bring joy and sorrow to the lives of many people today. Medical advances have helped with infertility. However, those undergoing treatment often suffer during the process and crave a spiritual element to counterbalance the arduous clinical procedures. Miscarriages bring their own kind of loss and sorrow. On the other hand, the experience of pregnancy, the drama of giving birth, and the miracle of adoption are occasions for joy and wonder.We offer prayers for those who want to conceive, prayers for childbirth, rituals for parents preparing to adopt, mourning ceremonies for miscarriages and much more.

Photo by Rabbi Roni Handler

Celebrating Pregnancy

Describes the customs of Sephardic Jews who celebrated a woman's first pregnancy by cutting the swaddling clothes at a festive gathering of women [more]

Found In: Pregnancy

Tags: Sephardi

M'ugelet

It is customary for pregnant women and women seeking to become pregnant to offer prayers to Rachel, Judaism's mater dolorosa. Specifically, women visit Rachel's tomb in Bethlehem, wrap a red cord around the tomb, then cut it into smaller pieces which they tie around their own wrists. This ritual for a pregnant woman is based on this custom. [more]

Found In: Pregnancy

Tags: red thread

A Prayer to be Said upon Entering the Ninth Month of Pregnancy

From an Italian collection of 18th century prayers for married women written by Dr. Giuseppe Cohen and presented to his bride as a wedding gift. [more]

Found In: Morning Service, Pregnancy

Tags: Amidah

Temenos

A poem that likens the womb's circles to other circles within Judaism [more]

Found In: Pregnancy

Blessingway Ceremony

A ceremony for a woman about to give birth, based on the Navajo custom of the blessingway [more]

Found In: Pregnancy

Tags: Debbie Friedman, Debbie Friedman, havdalah

Birchot Shamayim Me’al: Pregnancy Song

From Genesis 49:25 and Deuteronomy 7:13 [more]

Found In: Pregnancy

Hannah's Prayer from Berakhot 31b

A form of this touching prayer in modern English [more]

Found In: Infertility

Tags: conception

As at the Creation of Eve

A prayer that may be said before a medical exam for those undergoing fertility treatment/counseling [more]

Found In: Starting a Family

Tags: conception

Chayei Sarah

The author brings to life the Genesis tale of Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar by locating Sarah and Abraham's infertility as the central factor motivating the characters' behavior. [more]

Found In: Torah Portion: Parashah, Infertility

Tags: Hayei Sarah

Barren (Uri)

Contemporary Israeli prayer expressing desire for a child [more]

Found In: Infertility