So, how many children do you have?” “Do you have kids?” Those seemingly innocuous questions are enough to make me crumble to the floor. I don’t know how to answer them. Over the years, I have tried the following responses: “God has other plans for me” or, “I have tried, but never been able to … More »
A New Vision for Family Formation
Feminism has expanded our vision, our consciousness, and our sense of what’s possible. And it has left an imprint on the types of questions we ask about creating families: Do we want to have children? When? How are our choices shaped by socioeconomic and legal structures as well as by personal agency? How do we as … More »
Discovering New Dreams
I have worked as a social worker in the field of fertility for 13 years, including in an in vitro fertilization unit in a Jerusalem hospital. There, I learned the names of the procedures, conditions, and medical terminology, as well as the effects of the hormone treatments and procedures. I saw that though the medical … More »
Infertility: The Basics
The first thing God asks of humans is: “Be fruitful and multiply.” That same God, as recounted in the Bible, doesn’t make it easy for some of the matriarchs to conceive. As a doctor who specializes in infertility treatment, I offer the following reflections and suggestions. First, a couple should seek help after one year … More »
Overcoming the Certainty of Despair with the Delight of Surprise
The interplay between text and context serves as a perennial challenge of interpreting Jewish sources, whether as parsed by traditional commentators or refracted through contemporary academic insight. Premodern classical interpreters assumed, for example, that revealed texts had divine origins; scriptural narrative was a more-or-less accurate depiction of actual events; and the chronological order of text … More »
A Perspective on the Ethics of Fertility Treatments
As we delve into the issues surrounding medical interventions to treat infertility, several moral questions arise — both when having children with one’s own gametes (sperm and eggs) and also when having children with donor gametes. … More »
Be Fruitful and Multiply
1. What resources (organizational, philanthropic, educational) might the Jewish community harness to support Jewish family formation when people face fertility challenges? 2. How might we, as communities and individuals, address the suffering and sense of isolation, stigma, and uncertainty experienced by people challenged with infertility? 3. What issues arise for the families of adult adopted daughters when those daughters … More »
The Daughter of My Reality
Skipping along the streets of our New York City neighborhood, I clearly remember sharing with my mother my dreams of being pregnant. I was 8 years old and already discussing the prospects of having a big tummy and wondering how it would feel to have a baby growing deep inside of me. It was no … More »
It Takes Three to Tango
Sivan is the most beautiful 8-month-old baby I could possibly have imagined holding. I am in love. Here’s my story: My wife and I tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant for a couple of years. Over the course of several disappointing attempts, I returned to the comments of my animal reproduction professor (who also worked with … More »