Questions tagged [pregnancy-birth]
laws and customs pertaining to pregnancy, labor, and childbirth
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Is there a source for this Segulah to help somebody become pregnant?
There seems to be a Segulah to help a woman who is having trouble having a child.
The Segulah is to form a group of 40 women (or more) who will say Tefilas Chana (Perek Aleph and Perek Bais in the ...
2
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0answers
63 views
What is "unusual childbirth pain"?
The Talmud [Yevamot 65b, Ketubot 60a] allows a woman to sterilize herself if she suffers unusual childbirth pain.
What is "unusual childbirth pain"? Women testify to the fact that there is ...
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1answer
68 views
Why Hatov V'Hameitiv for son? [duplicate]
The Maharil (Milah 1:p.65) writes
נראה בעיני הטעם משום דאי׳ בגמרא אמרו לו אשתו ילדה זכר מברך הטוב והמטיב
וי״מ משום ארבעה צריכין להודות ואחד מהם היוצא מבית האסורים וכן התינוק
יצא כן מאסורי מעי אמו - ...
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Is stepping on fingernails still a concern today? [duplicate]
Rav Chaim Kanievsky is quoted saying a pregnant woman may walk on the nails of a non-Jew.
Does Rav Chaim Kanievsky hold it's still an issue for pregnant women to walk on cut nails today? I recently ...
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2answers
172 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 ...
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213 views
Why does the Torah say a woman has "sperm" or "seed"?
Why does the Torah say a woman has "sperm" or "seed" (for example, Genesis 24:60, and in other passages)?
And they blessed Rebecca and said to her, "Our sister, may you ...
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2answers
84 views
Who must "be fruitful and multiply"? [duplicate]
The commandment to be fruitful and multiply -- פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ [Gen. 1:28] appears to have been issued to all men [Yevamot 6:6], not just Jews. So why isn't it one of the Noahide laws, which apply ...
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109 views
Why Isn't There a Tefila for Fertility?
Within Shmoneh Esrai we daven for everyone of these items below, except for childbirth. Why?
R' Yochanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in His own hands and not entrusted ...
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83 views
Symbolism of Childbirth impurity differences male and female children in Leviticus 12? [duplicate]
I am a gentile asking for Jewish insight regarding the differences in ritual impurity time that comes from child birth (the time is doubled for baby girls). As a Christian, I got ideas from my ...
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64 views
Woman praying for others during labor- any source?
I've heard multiple times that when a woman is in labor it is a special time to pray for other people. Is there any source for that?
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93 views
Giving birth twice in a month
I came across an article about a woman with two wombs giving birth twice, nearly a month apart. How should such a woman deal with all the regular rules after giving birth.
4
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2answers
580 views
What stone prevents miscarriage?
The Shulchan Aruch OC (303:24) writes:
יוצאה באבן תקומה [פי' הערוך אבן ידועה שכשהיא על אשה לא תפיל] - women
are allowed to walk outside on shabbos with an even tekuma used to
prevent ...
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1answer
83 views
Why Leah is so stressed? [duplicate]
On Gen 30:9
וַתֵּ֣רֶא לֵאָ֔ה כִּ֥י עָמְדָ֖ה מִלֶּ֑דֶת וַתִּקַּח֙ אֶת־זִלְפָּ֣ה
שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ וַתִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛הּ לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her ...
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1answer
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Discrepancy between description of how Bilhah and Zilpah had children
I noticed three inconsistencies between how the Torah describes the conception and delivery of the children of Bilhah and Zilpha, only 5 verses apart.
The conception/birth of Bilhah's son Dan is ...
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1answer
145 views
How is the date of Yitzchak's birth related to the dispute between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua?
There's a famous dispute between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua when the world was created: Tishrei or Nissan. Their dispute is recorded in Rosh Hashanah 10b - 11a:
תניא רבי אליעזר אומר בתשרי נברא ...
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34 views
Is there any rule against finding out the gender of a fetus? [duplicate]
From my unscientific survey of what I've seen, it seems like most Orthodox Jews avoid finding out the gender of their child while it is still in utero (even if they otherwise take ultrasounds, blood ...
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853 views
May a pregnant woman eat non kosher food to satiate her craving?
An acquaintance of mine claimed that in the occasion of a craving of a particular non kosher food item, a pregnant woman would be permitted to consume it. Absent the food item, the woman and/or fetus ...
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81 views
How did Noah react to being childless?
Rashi to Genesis 5:32 reads:
אמר רבי יודן מה טעם כל הדורות הולידו למאה שנה וזה לחמש מאות אמר הקב״ה אם רשעים הם יאבדו במים ורע לצדיק זה ואם צדיקים הם אטריח עליו לעשות תיבות הרבה כבש את מעיינו ולא ...
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Grandfather opening the ark
What is the origin of a grandfather opening the ark if his daughter is pregnant? I am familiar with the custom for the husband to receive this honor in Shul.
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and daughters were born to them (bereishis 6:1)
There is a strange way of saying that the human population increase on parsha Bereishis (6:1). The pasuk says:
וַֽיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־הֵחֵ֣ל הָֽאָדָ֔ם לָרֹ֖ב עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה
וּבָנ֖וֹת יֻלְּד֥וּ ...
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2answers
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A Baby Too Large?
Apparently there is a gemara which says if a fetus is too large for the mother, then the mother is put in danger. (Heard in a recorded shiur) Where is this gemara?
[As a bonus point, why would Hashem ...
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387 views
Old fashioned telephone vs. Uber App on Shabbos
From Rabbi Moshe Heinemann:
Riding to the Hospital
A woman need not spend Shabbos/Yom Tov at a
location close to the hospital or arrive at the hospital before labor
starts to avoid riding on ...
5
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1answer
232 views
Source for parable about two twins in the womb
I once heard/read a parable about two babies in their mother's womb. It goes something like this.
Two twins in the womb are speaking of the world to come, one believes it exists, the
other not. ...
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61 views
Customs/Habits around having a second child?
Besides the brit milah ceremony, pidyon haben/habat (redemption of the firstborn) or kidush peter rechem (sanctification of the womb's opening) or seder kidushat chaye hamishpacha, (ceremony of ...
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Why human procreation is not voluntary?
Physiologically, the process of procreation is all "out of our control", whether on the side of men or women.
For example, women don't have a choice of deciding whether to get pregnant or not (think ...
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2answers
160 views
Prayer regarding the dangerous premature birth of gentile friend’s baby
My dear gentile friend gave birth very, very prematurely (at @ 5 months) to her due date. The female baby survived but is
still dependent on a breathing tube and is still very weak and underweight. ...
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436 views
Can a pregnant woman go to aquariums?
Some have the custom that pregnant women do not go to zoos. (See here)
Does this custom extend to aquariums too?
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0answers
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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 ...
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1answer
151 views
Earliest source for question on timing of birth control?
I am aware of discussions in the Gemara and Rishonim of the permissibility of various methods of birth control.
What I am looking for is the earliest mention of the modern day practice in which a ...
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52 views
Source for R' Soloveitchik's teaching about why we don't stand for a baby in utero?
There's a famous teaching from Niddah 30b that a baby is taught the entire Torah in utero.
Someone once referenced this gemara and asked The Rav, if that's the case why don't we stand for a pregnant ...
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Can a rabbi conduct a marriage if the bride is already pregnant from the groom?
Are there any prohibitions against or stipulations for conducting a marriage between a woman and the man who recently impregnated her, assuming they are otherwise fit for marriage.
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A pregnant woman of a boy kohen baby going into cemetery
The gemara in chullin 71 writes that a tahor baluah cannot become tamei. Meaning something inside someone cannot become tamei from the outside. So it seems from this gemara that a woman who married a ...
6
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1answer
198 views
Are Noahide women permitted to undergo a tubal ligation?
Shalom!
I am a non Jewish G-d fearing woman with two children and even though I am still quite young (24) I don't want to have any more children. I have severe depression and anxiety so the two I ...
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1answer
919 views
Can a Jewish man be a sperm donor?
What are the Halachik issues with donating sperm in a non-Jewish community?
3
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1answer
94 views
Shalom Zachar on Pesach Night
Rav Heinemann mentioned during a shiur that there is no shalom zachar on Pesach if shabbos is the night of the seder. Although practically having one would be very difficult, why is this night ...
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1answer
1k views
Can a pregnant woman enter a cemetery?
I heard that a pregnant woman should not enter a cemetery. I understand this is a minhag and not halacha but would be interested to understand more about this topic.
What is the source of that minhag?...
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1answer
133 views
Personality traits of being born on certain weekdays
A few years ago I was reading that there are some teachings on the weekdays and their "personality" and also how it influences the person born on one of them.
Could anyone help me to find more ...
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3answers
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Does a pregnant or nursing woman fast on a postponed Tish'ah B'Av?
According to this answer pregnant and nursing women generally fast only on Tish'ah B'Av and Yom Kippur, but not the other "minor" fasts. (This is certainly the case where fasting would cause them pain....
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At what point in the birth process is the woman's death called a death at childbirth, in regard to not burying her with tachricim (shrouds)?
Shulchan Aruch and R'Ma (YD 364:4):
אִם מָצְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל הָרוּג, יִקְבְּרוּהוּ כְּמוֹ שֶׁמְּצָאוּהוּ,
בְּלֹא תַּכְרִיכִין, וְלֹא יַחְלְצוּ בּוֹ אֲפִלּוּ מִנְעָלָיו. הַגָּה:
וְכֵן עוֹשִׂין ...
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195 views
Does the Neshama (soul) choose the body?
I think i might have read in various places i just can't find where that the neshama chooses the body based on the life missions that it needs to accomplish so it chooses the most suitable conditions ...
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161 views
Aruch Hashulchan's comments about the form of a fetus
In his discussion of the sin of wasting seed, R. Yechiel Michel Epstein writes that scientists using microscopes have found that the drop of semen contains the entire image/form of a person, thus ...
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4answers
755 views
Was Dan born out of wedlock?
I've heard that Dan was born out of wedlock. Is this true? Could someone provide me with a source for this information?
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1answer
180 views
A Hebrew prayer upon discovering the news of having a baby?
I've found this book called: The Jewish Pregnancy book; 'A Resource for the Soul, Body & Mind during Pregnancy, Birth & the First Three Months', written by Sandy Falk, M.D., and Rabbi Daniel ...
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3answers
294 views
Are there any living mainstream orthodox Rabbonim today that permit abortion for Tay Sachs etc
Are there any orthodox rabbis alive today that allow one to abort a fetus that has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness such as Tay Sachs?
I have read the related posts that discuss the For ...
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0answers
147 views
Are pregnant women forbidden from eating harmful vegetables?
There are many things that we can’t do because of danger - the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch even has an entire Siman on the topic.
Sifrei Bamidbar 87 states that certain vegetables are harmful to pregnant ...
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0answers
34 views
Why do we cry at shivah houses?
The Midrash in Koheles Rabbah (7:4 in the Warsaw numbering) writes (translation follows Artscroll, chapter 7, page 31):
נולד אדם הכל שמחין מת הכל בוכין. ואינו כן אלא נולד אדם ואין שמחין לו שאין ...
7
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2answers
240 views
Does a non-Jew learn in the womb the same way a Jew does?
At every stage of a person’s existence, Torah is part of it.
“When you are sitting at home” (meaning in the womb)
“when you are going on the road,” (meaning the soul descends from the world above to ...
8
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1answer
1k views
When is a convert's Hebrew birthday?
Is it their conversion date, the Hebrew date on which they were biologically born, or something else? (For questions of halachic age as well as mystical significance)
1
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1answer
121 views
Conception/Delivery Same Time
What is the source that states when Moshiach is here - women will deliver babies the moment they conceive. I heard this in a shiur from HaRav Yitzchak Ginsburg in Israel.
