But Rabbi, I don’t want to hear about abortion at services.

Written By David Edleson

It’s that time of year again –“Repro Shabbat,” the Shabbat on which synagogues all over America talk about reproductive freedom and Jewish views on abortion. Organized by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), it is billed as “an opportunity for congregations, organizations, and communities to celebrate the critical importance of reproductive health access, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice, and to learn more about Judaism’s approach to these issues.” 

While many in our community strongly support and endorse Repro Shabbat, every year I hear from others, “but Rabbi, I don’t want to hear about abortion at services.” For some, it is because political issues get in the way of their spiritual experience during services. For some, it is because they don’t agree with the prevailing Jewish views, and Reform Judaism’s view on these issues, and so Repro Shabbat feels alienating at the very moment they seek connection with community. For yet others, it’s just uncomfortable or brings up memories and family histories that don’t feel Shabbos dich (fitting for Shabbat, which is to be a time of joy and peace).  

I want to say that I understand and empathize with all those reasons, and especially so soon after the events in Texas, we do have a deep need to feel the arms of our community holding us up. Indeed, I would be inclined to do something else this year, if it weren’t for the cresting assault on a woman’s right to choose, the proliferation of laws restricting and practically outlawing abortion, and a case before the Supreme Court that could well end in the reversal of Roe V. Wade. 

This year of all years, we need Repro Shabbat to remind us that the Jewish approach to these issues is quite different that the conservative Christian beliefs that motivate and shape so much of the attack on reproductive freedom. While Judaism deeply values children and soon-to-be children, it nonetheless holds that the life and wellbeing of the mother outweigh all other considerations.  Judaism values the life of the living breathing conscious mother over the potential life that the pregnancy represents. At any time during pregnancy, an abortion is required by Jewish law if the life of the birth-giver is threatened, and many rabbis have expanded this to include her wellbeing and the wellbeing of her existing family.  This is not a liberal Reform value only, but traditional Jewish law. 

That means that laws restricting abortions to early term or that do not allow for broad health exceptions prevent Jews from practicing our religion. States are now imposing religious beliefs rooted deeply in Catholic and conservative Christian teachings on people from religious traditions with profoundly different beliefs. That includes us. 

We also owe it to all the Jewish people, particularly women, that have led the fight for women to have access to safe, legal abortions. My mother was a public health nurse in Georgia and was, before Roe, very involved in helping women access such services in other states. She saw first-hand the real-life consequences on young women’s bodies of attempted abortions by women themselves or performed illegally in unsanitary conditions by people of dubious credentials. At Temple Sinai, I have heard many people talk proudly during Yahrzeits about their mother or grandmother’s tireless work in this area. Our member, Dr. Felicia Kornbluh is working on a book on the Jewish activist circles in New York on this matter, including her mother. You might not know that a network of Reform rabbis were also very active in helping women and that the Reform movement has been active in fighting for access to safe legal abortions and reproductive health services. The Reform movement argues that regardless of our personal beliefs, in this democracy it is every individual’s right to choose what happens to their body, and the imposition of religiously based beliefs on the entire population violates the proper boundaries between church and state.  We are made ‘b’tselem Elohim,’ ‘in the image of God’ meaning that we each have the ability to discern right from wrong and wrestle with our own moral decisions. 

Finally, we should honor Repro Shabbat because there are many in our community who are reeling and hurt from the recent court decisions and laws on this issue. Many of us have been active in this issue for decades, some for deeply personal reasons, and feel despair at the slipping away of decades of work. This sense is made worse by the rise in antisemitism, authoritarianism, and the world’s temperature. Since the Reform movement has long been a vocal advocate for reproductive freedom, I agree with the NCJW that “our communities must be places where anyone impacted personally by these issues feels loved and welcomed. They should be places where people understand what our tradition teaches. And they should be places where we understand the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice for everyone.”  

I wanted to share some resources on this topic for those who wish to learn more:

  • Podcast: Shalom Hartman Institute: How Jews Talk About Abortion As the Supreme Court considers a legal challenge to Texas' abortion law, Yehuda Kurtzer and Michal Raucher examine the Jewish communal conversation around abortion. This podcast is from a more traditional and academic Jewish perspective. The Shalom Hartman Institute brings together Jews from across the movements to study text and think deeply about Judaism, Jewish values, and Jewish identity.

 

David Edleson
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