Questions tagged [baby-infant]

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18 votes
2 answers
2k views

How do you pray for a sick baby who has not yet been named?

Is it possible to say a Mi SheBerach for a sick baby who has not yet been named? If so, how is it done? And if one cannot say a Mi SheBerach, is there another prayer that can be said? What if there ...
Martha F.'s user avatar
  • 555
17 votes
7 answers
10k views

Understanding the reasoning of the woman who agreed with King Solomon to "cut the baby in half"

There's a famous story in I Kings 3:16-28 about Shlomo Hamelech. Two women who had just given birth around the same time appeared before him; one baby had died and one was alive and the women were ...
alicht's user avatar
  • 12k
13 votes
3 answers
3k views

Infant seeing reflection in mirror

I have heard that some people do not allow a child to see his or her reflection in a mirror before they can speak (or say their name, possibly). Is there any traditional source for this practice?
Dave's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
367 views

How would the 'split the baby in half' situation be resolved according to halacha?

In 1 Kings 3:16-27 there is a story of two prostitutes who appear before King Shlomo, each having a newborn baby. One of the babies died and there was a dispute as to which one. There were no ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can a mother taste her own breastmilk?

Can a mother drink/taste her own breastmilk? I know theres an issur for a non-baby to drink directly from the breast; but, what about from a cup? Further, if it is indeed assur (even from a cup), ...
cube's user avatar
  • 973
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why is a bris performed after death?

Why does an infant baby boy who dies before he can be circumcised have a circumcision performed after death? If, as the article states it is to prepare the body for the next world why is this ritual ...
user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
320 views

Nursing in the bathroom

Per Food in bathroom it is forbidden to eat in the bathroom. Can a lady nurse in the bathroom or is it considered like eating in the bathroom? (sources)
Gershon Gold's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
275 views

Why can a baby get Tzaraas?

Reference in Gemora Shabbos 133a Daf Yomi recently to tzaraas (skin disease see Leviticus 13) on the foreskin regarding mila (circumcission). This implies babies can have tzaraas. If tzaraas is not ...
Adrian Muller's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
837 views

Gift of a Teddy Bear to New Born Baby

Can I give a new born jewish baby a furry Teddy Bear? I was told that a handmade teddy bear especially made as a gift and given to a new born baby of a religious family was returned? A doll would be ...
elayne's user avatar
  • 81
8 votes
0 answers
141 views

Those who observe "Ben Zachar" at night and "Shalom Zachar" by day

There's a pretty common custom to observe what's commonly called a "Shalom Zachar" on the Friday night after a baby boy is born. People go to where the baby's father is, eat snacks, sing and share ...
robev's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
2k views

Chickpeas (Arbes) at a Shalom Zachor

Why do we serve Arbes - chickpeas at a Shalom Zachor?
Gershon Gold's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
511 views

"Praiseworthy is he who will clutch and dash your infants against the rock"?

I do not understand the last lines of psalm 137 ("By the rivers of Babylon"/"Al naharos bovel," the psalm recited before Birkat Ha-Mazon on weekdays. [It includes the famous lines &...
SAH's user avatar
  • 19.6k
7 votes
1 answer
560 views

How is the sex of a baby born with unclear genitalia determined?

A baby may be born with a penis but no testicle. The hospital would do genetic tests to determine whether the baby was genetically female or male. In the case of a genetic female born with a penis the ...
Duvid's user avatar
  • 71
7 votes
1 answer
324 views

Calling female baby by name before official naming

Is there any objection, halachic or otherwise, to calling a baby girl by the name the parents plan on giving it before the mi sheberach prayer is recited at the torah reading following the birth? What ...
Jewels's user avatar
  • 2,504
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the source for: One shouldn't name a baby using names from before Abraham

I've heard or I've been taught one shouldn't name a baby (or take a name, in the case of a ger) from names in the Torah before Abraham, namely Adam, Noah etc. This makes sense to me, as Abraham is the ...
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
181 views

Moshe and filicide

In Exodus 2:3, baby Moses's mother, unable to further hide him from the authorities, puts him in a box in or near the river. An abandoned baby will soon die. How could / why did she trade in the ...
msh210's user avatar
  • 73.7k
6 votes
1 answer
292 views

What things are done differently for an adult circumcision?

I have never attended an adult circumcision, and I don't know anyone, personally, who was circumcised as an adult. I'm curious if there are any notable differences between an adult and child ...
DanF's user avatar
  • 70k
6 votes
1 answer
575 views

Bris for non-Jewish boy whose parents are converting

If in the process of conversion, a couple has a baby boy, what is done regarding the bris? They have not yet fully converted, but are in the process, with a Rabbi and regularly attending synagogue ...
rth116's user avatar
  • 71
6 votes
2 answers
314 views

Is a baby born on Shabbos Muktza as Nolad?

Is a baby born on Shabbos Muktza as Nolad until the end of Shabbos? I mean, he is quite literally Nolad - born on Shabbos. I understand that anything that the baby needs would would obviously be Mutar ...
Eliyahu's user avatar
  • 5,355
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Not sitting shiva when the baby passes away after 30 days

Recently, a 2-month-old baby passed away ל"ע, and the family indicated that there would be no shiva. Under what circumstances is there no shiva for a baby that lives passed 30 days?
Yishai's user avatar
  • 31.8k
5 votes
2 answers
575 views

Pampers tzovehah (dyeing) on shabbas

Pampers make diapers which have a wetness indicator. Initially it is a yellow stripe when dry; when wet it turns blue. I am wondering whether this would be considered tzoveha. http://g-ecx.images-...
sam's user avatar
  • 41k
5 votes
1 answer
89 views

What sort of "food" did the midwives provide for the children (Rashi on Shemos 1 (17))?

Rashi on Shemos 1 (17) comments on the expression “... but they enabled the boys to live” and says “They provided water and food for them.” If these were new-borns what sort of food could they have ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
498 views

Wishing someone Mazel Tov may turn out to be problematic

I am a member of a Chabad-Lubavitch shul with its wonderfully diverse community here in Southeast Asia though I am not a Chasid. I may have caused some discomfort to our much loved Rabbi & ...
Peter Point's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
232 views

Potty in the living room?

It is generally assumed that one is not allowed to bring a sefer into a bathroom, at least while the bathroom's in use (see Shabbos 127b, Rambam Hilchos Sefer Torah 10:5, Shulchan Aruch YD 282:6, ...
Loewian's user avatar
  • 17.7k
5 votes
1 answer
157 views

Is it discussed why a baby is born without teeth?

I was wondering if the idea of a baby being born without teeth, and more specifically the painful process of teething, has been discussed by the Torah or addressed by any Rabbis?
Gavriel's user avatar
  • 9,608
5 votes
1 answer
182 views

Cholim she'yesh bahem sakanah

Are there rabbinical sources on what qualifies someone as a choleh she'yesh bo sakanah - a sick person whose life is in danger? Is it strictly a medical decision? Are there circumstances in which ...
Charles Koppelman's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
128 views

A widow using her deceased husbands semen to conceive?

If a husband has some of his semen frozen/saved and then dies, what halachic and hashkafic issues have to be addressed when deciding if his widow is allowed to/can/should use that semen to become ...
Gavriel's user avatar
  • 9,608
4 votes
1 answer
747 views

Did babies nurse in the wilderness?

We know that the Jews were sustained by the heavenly mun for forty years in the wilderness. They didn't eat anything else, as it provided their every needs. They didn't even produce any bodily waste. ...
robev's user avatar
  • 19.6k
4 votes
4 answers
650 views

Naming a baby boy before a deferred bris

The typical practice when a baby boy is born is to refrain from calling him by any name until he is given a name at his bris. In cases where the bris is deferred (e.g. for health reasons) for an ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 24.7k
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

May a Jewish baby nurse from a non-Jewish woman?

Does halacha allow letting a Jewish baby nurse from a non-Jewish woman (assuming Jewish wet nurses are available)? The Gemara says that Baby Moses refused to nurse from a non-Jewish woman, saying, "...
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
529 views

Naming a child after two relatives

I once heard Rabbi Shmuel Niman, Mashgiach Ruchani of the Chafeitz Chaim Yeshiva, say that he had "recently learned" that it is improper to give a child parts of the names of two relatives. For ...
Bruce James's user avatar
  • 15.9k
4 votes
1 answer
480 views

Eliyahu HaNavi and bris

Someone once told me that when Eliyahu HaNavi comes to a baby's bris, everyone who is presently there is forgiven for their sins. Does anyone know the source for this?
Chiddushei Torah's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
664 views

Placing a unattached plastic over the stroller on Shabbos / Yom Tov

According to Rabbi Dovid Ostroff Shlita The Rama in Hilchos Succah 626:3 says that one is permitted to open and shut hinged flaps that are used for covering the Succah when raining. The Chazon ...
Gershon Gold's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
240 views

By what standards does Judaism hold infants accountable for sin?

In Samuel 15:3 Samuel relays God's instruction to Saul of obliterating the nation of Amalek. Included in this instruction is also the command to slay infants and sucklings. Samuel 15:3 "Now, go, and ...
RandomUser's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
309 views

Why isn't there a Shalom Zachor equivalent for newborn girls?

The Rama in Yoreh Deah 265:12 brings the custom for a Shalom Zachor: עוד נהגו לעשות סעודה ומשתה בליל שבת לאחר שנולד זכר נכנסים אצל התינוק לטעום שם והוא ג"כ סעודת מצוה It is customary to make a ...
alicht's user avatar
  • 12k
4 votes
2 answers
217 views

Can two siamese twins be separated by killing one if that one would die anyway and the other would live

In two Simaese twins where the first will definitely die soon, whereas the second has a chance of life if the first stops being a 'drain' him. Like if there is only one heart. Can one kill the first ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
176 views

Naming a baby after a living non-relative

As an Ashkenazi Jew, can I name my child after someone who is alive if they are not a relative or are you not supposed to name a child after the living, regardless of your relationship with them or ...
CFN's user avatar
  • 41
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Segulah for having a boy

I have heard before that a segulah for having a boy is to have relations with one's wife twice in one night. I remember hearing this in the name of Chazal. Does anyone know the makor for it?
Yehoshua's user avatar
  • 15.9k
3 votes
2 answers
470 views

Jewish prayer for our doctor after baby delivery?

We just had a baby and are scheduled to see our primary care physician very soon. We know he is religious and would appreciate a short prayer, and we were wondering if there are any Jewish prayers ...
user1717828's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
722 views

Mourning the death of an infant

If an infant only survives for one day Rachmana litzlan, do the parents have to sit shiva or say kaddish?
Eli's user avatar
  • 33
3 votes
1 answer
111 views

Source of שלום זכר

What is the earliest source for the מנהג of making a שלום זכר? Anything earlier than שולחן ערוך will make me happy to be honest...
Moshe Steinberg's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
616 views

Should Jewish parents-to-be throw a baby shower?

Should Jewish parents-to-be throw a baby shower? Why or why not? What is the origin of the baby shower (amongst Jews specifically) if any? For clarification, I am referring to the party before the ...
Meliorate's user avatar
  • 767
3 votes
1 answer
203 views

Halakhot of raising babies

I don't think I've ever encountered halakhot that pertain to interacting with newborns, but as any new parent knows, such interactions take up a great deal of one's time, during the day, at night, ...
Shimon bM's user avatar
  • 18.8k
3 votes
1 answer
239 views

Innocent babies killed in flood

In Parasha Noach, why were presumably innocent babies killed in the Flood? I would appreciate if someone could provide some elucidation.
sta's user avatar
  • 121
3 votes
1 answer
84 views

Sarah nursing idolaters' children

The Gemara (BM 87b) relates that at the time that Avraham made a feast for Yitzchak'a birth, the nations mocked him and Sarah, saying that they adopted him, or that he was Avimelech's son with Sarah. ...
DonielF's user avatar
  • 34.1k
3 votes
1 answer
611 views

Converting a baby - When to do Circumcision

I know that one can convert an infant (and if he doesn't recant when he becomes of age, the conversion is retractively chal) but what about milah? For a Jewish child, milah before the 8th day isn't a ...
rosends's user avatar
  • 37.8k
3 votes
1 answer
109 views

Sha'atnez and small children

I was sent an email today alerting my community that Sha'atnez has been discovered in a line of baby pants. A quick internet search turned up other baby clothing that has been discovered to have Sha'...
Seth J's user avatar
  • 41.5k
3 votes
0 answers
72 views

What name to use when praying for baby in need of healing before it is born?

Typically, when praying for someone in need of healing, we refer to them as "NAME ben/bat MOTHERS_NAME". For a baby before it is given a name, we can refer to them as "tinok ben/bat ...
Josh Grinberg's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
96 views

Ruach Hakodesh when Naming a Child for an Ancestor?

The Arizal says that parents having a certain level of ruach hakodesh when naming their child. Sha’ar HaGilgulim (23:8) - ונמצא כי כאשר נולד האדם וקוראים לו אביו ואמו שם אחד העולה בדעתם אינו באקראי ...
NJM's user avatar
  • 13.7k
3 votes
0 answers
101 views

Have infants ever been instructed to bless on mothers milk?

This biography of Rabbi Zalman Volozhin, brother of famed Rabbi Chaim, reports that at the age of one year old he was trained by his mother to recite a blessing before suckling her milk. Is such an ...
Dr. Shmuel's user avatar