Repro Shabbat 2023

The National Council of Jewish Women, Rabbis for Reproductive Justice, and Jews for Abortion Access created Repro Shabbat on Parashat Mishpatim to honor the origins of the Jewish distinction between the life of a woman and the potential life of a fetus. Here is the sermon I delivered on Friday, February 17:

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I am the person who decided that Temple Israel would honor Repro Shabbat. Yet, I have also been putting off writing my sermon for this service. When speaking to others, one should have a singular focus. A single thesis allows listeners to clearly follow a line of reasoning and understand the speaker’s point of view. 

Well, my primary message is that religious beliefs should not dictate access to healthcare. Bodily autonomy is sacred to me and whatever decisions made by a person with a fetus should be their’s to make in consultation with a doctor. End of sermon. 

This would also be a good reason not to speak about contemporary issues from the bimah. What some people consider ethical decisions, others worry are divisive and distracting from our goal of being a spiritual home for all Jews and Jewish-adjacent seekers. 

On the other hand, our souls are worn down by the drumbeat of declarations that life begins at conception and choosing to terminate the multiplication of cells within one’s body is the same as murdering a living human being. Nevermind the refusal to fill valid prescriptions for birth control, emergency contraception, and medication to end a pregnancy. 

First, I want to assure you that Judaism has always been on the side of women and others who can bear children. Though the breadth of support for non-males can vary, one thing is very clear: only males were given the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. Women have always been allowed to prevent pregnancy and end pregnancies. Now, the words used in these conversations, particularly at the legal level, can be infuriating. I don’t want to diminish that. But before we get into the particulars of Jewish law, let’s remember that Jews have always been more than rabbis writing about halakha. 

The Jewish cultural value of education generally and literacy in particular made our connection to the field of medicine strong. We could read recipes for herbal remedies. We did not disparage our healers who knew how to help women keep their families smaller in size. Throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish families were smaller than their non-Jewish neighbors. It’s not because we were less sexually active or because we are less fertile.

Judaism honors the body to a degree not seen in other civilizations. Our Talmud provides clear guidance to men on their obligation to satisfy their wives – materially and physically. A husband withholding money or sex is legitimate grounds for a wife to request a divorce. Of course, the Talmud doesn’t fully make room for the varieties of gender identity. Halakhah was codified within a male-female binary until quite recently. Nor am I defending the limitations put on non-males within the halakhic system. I am only trying to paint a picture of how completely different the Jewish understanding of bodies and souls is from the Christian understanding. 

Please do not forget: humans came to an understanding of the existence of souls from pagan Greeks. Our discourse has used the word “pagan” pejoratively for far too long. 

In rabbinical school, my Codes class read a paper by Rabbi Robert Gordis (PDF) published by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly as guidance on matters of halakhah for the Conservative movement. It was published in 1988. Here is how Rabbi Gordis described bodily autonomy:

“The alleged right of abortion on demand is generally supported by the argument that a woman has rights over her own body. This is a contention which Judaism, and indeed all high religion, must reject on both theological and ethical grounds as being essentially a pagan doctrine. It is basic Jewish teaching that no human being is master of his own body, because he did not create himself; male and female alike have been fashioned by God in His image.”

To be clear, I could not disagree with Rabbi Gordis more. Of course humans have the right to bodily autonomy. If that means I’m borrowing from my pagan neighbors, so be it. I’ll scoop up bodily autonomy as I make way for the soul. The independence and interdependence expressed in these two concepts create the foundation for my spiritual pursuits. 

B’tzelem Elokim, the image of God, the shadow of God. This term does not make God the master of my choices. It means that we have the opportunity to live into the godliness within us. Or we could choose to impose ourselves on the people around us. 

I believe in vaccine mandates. I believe in the government’s right and obligation to protect public health. I believe that when individual choice infringe on the legitimate, separate rights of other human beings and humans collectively, the government has the obligation to define the limits of individual liberty. 

That said, when it comes to what is happening within the body of a human being, I think a healthy society has a collective responsibility to provide health care. All forms of health care. Not just the parts that conform to a subset population’s religious beliefs. 

So why is Repro Shabbat declared on Shabbat Mishpatim? As I mentioned earlier, because this Torah portion provides the foundational distinction between a child-bearing human and a fetus.

This portion is the Covenant Code. It has a laundry list of laws, both interpersonal and spiritual, that the Israelites must follow in order to be in covenant with God. And then God will fulfill the Divine side of the covenant. So, in the laws about manslaughter and property damage in Exodus chapter 21, we get verses 22-25:

וְכִֽי־יִנָּצ֣וּ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ אִשָּׁ֤ה הָרָה֙ וְיָצְא֣וּ יְלָדֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה אָס֑וֹן עָנ֣וֹשׁ יֵעָנֵ֗שׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׁ֤ית עָלָיו֙ בַּ֣עַל הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וְנָתַ֖ן בִּפְלִלִֽים׃

When [two or more] parties fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman’s husband may exact, the payment to be based on reckoning.

וְאִם־אָס֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֑ה וְנָתַתָּ֥ה נֶ֖פֶשׁ תַּ֥חַת נָֽפֶשׁ׃

But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life,

עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת שֵׁ֑ן יָ֚ד תַּ֣חַת יָ֔ד רֶ֖גֶל תַּ֥חַת רָֽגֶל׃

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

כְּוִיָּה֙ תַּ֣חַת כְּוִיָּ֔ה פֶּ֖צַע תַּ֣חַת פָּ֑צַע חַבּוּרָ֕ה תַּ֖חַת חַבּוּרָֽה׃ {ס}    

burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Okay, so let’s break this down:

First, a distinction is made between a fetus and a living woman. The penalty for causing a miscarriage is different from the penalty for killing a living woman. That is because one is human and the other is not. This is the most important element of Parashat Mishpatim for the purposes of declaring this weekend Repro Shabbat. 

Judaism from its very beginning honored the humanity of living human beings above the potential life within an individual. 

Thus, abortion is not murder.

A fetus has no individual rights: it is not human. It is a potential life. 

I also want to note that when we read the translation of this passage, it seems to indicate that if someone is in a fight and causes a third person to die, they will be put to death. This seems logical based on reading 

וְאִם־אָס֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֑ה וְנָתַתָּ֥ה נֶ֖פֶשׁ תַּ֥חַת נָֽפֶשׁ׃

But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life,

In reality, the word nefesh does not necessarily mean life. Nor is it saying that the person who commits manslaughter is put to death. Rather, it is saying the damages paid to the family harmed will be greater if the damage is to a living person. A living person’s eye is worth more in damages than a fetus. 

So, we can see just from this passage in Exodus that the Jewish relationship to the body is quite different from other religions. That’s not to say that we aren’t still grappling with the patriarchy or problematic condemnation of our right to body autonomy. 

I want to note that the Reform Movement has always supported access to reproductive healthcare. The Women’s Rabbinic Network, a network within the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the CCAR), the rabbinical association of the Reform movement, published a statement in 2019 (PDF) that includes this statement: “We believe every woman has a right to choose what happens to her body. We also value human life and its potential.”

In 2008, the CCAR adopted a resolution that states:

“The Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to 

• affirm the legal right of a family or a woman to determine on the basis of their or her own religious and moral values whether or not to terminate a particular pregnancy, free from government interference; the right of all women to access to birth control; and the right of all people to receive comprehensive and medically accurate sexuality education;

• Urge the broad liberalization of abortion laws in the various states”

And has many other specific resolutions. 

Indeed, even the Rabbinical Assembly, the Conservative movement’s rabbinic organization published a resolution in 2007 stating that 

“Whereas Jewish tradition cherishes the sanctity of life, including the potential of life which a pregnant woman carries within her;

Whereas Judaism does not believe that personhood and human rights begin with conception, but with birth;”

And resolves 

Therefore be it resolved that the Rabbinical Assembly urges its members to support full access for all women to the entire spectrum of reproductive healthcare, and to oppose all efforts by federal, state, local or private entities or individuals to limit such access;

The difference between the Rabbinical Assembly and the Central Conference of American Rabbis is that the RA also feels the need to include a statement that “Jewish law does not condone or permit abortion for contraceptive purposes, but where the life or health of the mother are in jeopardy.”

It’s been a long time since I faced decisions about abortion myself. I’ve always known I would never personally choose an abortion. Yet, I will fight to the end of time to keep the government, and frankly religious authorities, out of my uterus. 

I remember when a high school friend got pregnant. I remember how my parents judged her, while also respecting her decision to have an abortion. I remember living through how pregnancy changed her: how the hormone fluctuations of early pregnancy changed her behavior in ways that made it difficult to maintain friendships. For some reason, it took awhile before she was able to get an abortion scheduled. So, for a part of tenth grade, our friendship got more intimate as her relationships with other people were more tenuous. And then I was with her when she went to Planned Parenthood to terminate the pregnancy. I guess some religious authorities would call that an abortion for contraceptive purposes. I call that an individual healthcare decision. 

So yes, I am a rabbi who demands bodily autonomy as a fundamental human right. I am a Jew who believes that life is always more important than potential life. 

I believe humans can choose to live in covenant with community and in covenant with the Divine. I believe government should protect public health and the right to make one’s own choices for individual healthcare. I am proud that sexuality specifically and passion generally are acknowledged within the Jewish tradition. I recognize that people can make their own decisions about their internal organs and the way cells multiply within their bodies. 

In my personal Amidah prayer, I thank God for reviving the dead, m’chayeh ha’meitim. I say this prayer because every day that I choose to live in covenant with the Divine, I am choosing to revive my life. Religious wisdom revives me. It enlivens my body, allowing me to flow with the Soul of the Universe. Religion should never be used as a cudgel, forcing people to abide by one group’s idea of God and souls. 

Parashat Mishpatim begins with laws on how to humanize slavery before it talks about the free people fighting and accidentally causing a miscarriage. Our laws are not fixed. Halakhah means the way because in every generation, we choose The Way to be human and in alignment with God. 

Let us now, in 5783, declare that our religion demands access to reproductive healthcare. Let us now, in 2023, refuse to carry water for people who denigrate bodily autonomy. Let us stand firmly on the side of individuals to make their own decisions when it comes to their own health. Because each life is precious. Each soul contains worlds. And Life always supersedes potential life. Shabbat shalom.