Guiding Couples Through Infertility

This post originally appeared in February, 2010. I am republishing it today because Racheli Sprecher Frankel, whose talk I summarized below, is the mother of 16-year-old Naftali Frankel. Last Thursday, Naftali and two other young boys were hitching rides home when they were kidnapped by Hamas … [Read more...]

Tips for Couples Struggling with Infertility

I wrote this post a long time ago, after attending a talk by Natalie Taylor at the Kolech conference on fertility. Unfortunately the topic still relevant for many couples. At the time the speaker was pregnant with twins, who were born healthy. Natalie Taylor started off by saying that she is not … [Read more...]

Surrogate Mothering by Religious Women

Rika Koren, 32, divorced and the mother of two, served as a surrogate mother for an infertile couple and plans to do so again. In an interview with the newspaper Makor Rishon, Koren expanded on the reasons for her decision. She grew up in the Gur community of Ashdod, but her mother was from a … [Read more...]

Single Religious Woman Harvests Her Eggs

Tziporah, an Israeli 35-year-old single religious woman, decided to harvest some of her eggs in case she decides to start a family later on when her eggs might be less viable.  Tzi-Porah, the title of her blog, is a play on the Hebrew word porah, meaning fertile. In a recent post, she writes … [Read more...]

Rabbi: Freezing Eggs Not Viable Solution

Last week I reported on the conference encouraging single women in their 30's to freeze their eggs for after marriage. The website Jewish Ideas Daily translated and published two responsa by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow to a desperate 36-year-old, in which he addresses some of the many issues facing singles … [Read more...]

Keep Your Frozen Eggs Kosher

Should single, religious women in their 30's be encouraged to freeze their eggs, preserving their fertility for a few more years? This was the topic at a conference yesterday on the technology and ethics of single women in their 30's freezing their eggs for later use. Update: Rabbi Yuval Cherlow … [Read more...]

Are Rabbis Too Strict about Birth Control and Abortion?

The Orthodox website Kipa.co.il billed the Kolech conference on fertility as an "anti-Puah" event. Puah is an institute that helps couples with issues related to sexual health and fertility in a halachic framework. (A representative of Kolech insisted that the headline was invented by Kipa.) I … [Read more...]

Body and Soul in Fertility, Halacha and Science

On January 16, 2011, I attended the conference on fertility, halacha and women's health, sponsored by the Orthodox women's organization Kolech, the Bar-Ilan department of Gender studies, and the-Woman-to-Woman health center in Haifa. Knesset Member Gila Gamliel introduced the panel on Fertility, … [Read more...]

Thinking of Having Another Baby?

Ima2Seven has a post up about deciding whether or not to have more children. I know a few women who have as many as they can, letting their fertility fade naturally as they get older. Here's what Ima has to say about being a mother of seven: I tell them that it is crazy, and fun, and joyous and … [Read more...]

“Niddah” Art: Maybe This Month

A blogger sent me this photo of Jacqueline Nicholls' art, saying it was too "intense" for her site.   The piece looks tame, but contains several layers of meaning. The artist explains: It comes from my years experiencing the monthly niddah rituals, checking and preparing to go to the mikveh, … [Read more...]