It’s a topic that impacts the lives of frum women so profoundly, yet so many feel that they don’t know enough about it.
Embarking on the journey towards motherhood can be full of a lot of questions, hesitations and doubts. There are lots of resources out there to help women prepare for pregnancy and childbirth both physically and emotionally. But what would it look like to prepare spiritually? How would gaining an understanding of Torah perspectives on women’s fertility change the experience of motherhood?
This winter, Batsheva Learning Center is offering a groundbreaking course that will give women access to the original halachic and hashkafic sources that discuss the mitzvah of having children and how it relates to women.
The course will address common questions related to women’s fertility such as: What are the guidelines in halacha for the obligation to have children? Are women obligated in this mitzvah? Why or why not? What halachic and hashkafic value is placed on having a large family? In what circumstances would halacha allow or even encourage a woman to prevent pregnancy? When necessary, which methods of contraception does halacha prefer and why? How does halacha approach pregnancy and infant loss?
The goal of the course is for women to learn the original Torah sources inside for themselves, so they can feel empowered to embrace motherhood with more confidence. The classes will be structured with about half of the time devoted to chavrusa learning on the provided texts, followed by review and discussion with the teacher. Each student will receive a source book with all the sources they will be studying in the course, along with a workbook that will help guide them through the sources, providing them with summaries, background information, and guiding questions to assist them in their learning.
The eight-week course is being offered in person in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Israel with Zoom options available in the evenings on three time zones. Mrs. Rivky Kaplan, a popular lecturer and seminary teacher who will be teaching the course from Tzfat was involved in advising the development of the course. “It explores topics that are so relevant and important to a woman’s life,” Mrs. Kaplan said about the course. “The sources were chosen with wisdom and sensitivity, giving women the information they really need to hear when navigating this stage of their lives.”
This is the fourth in a series of text-based courses Batsheva has offered on topics in halacha that are particularly relevant to women. Previous courses covered the topics of niddah, kisui rosh and mitzvos asei shehazman grama.
“It was fascinating to see where the halachos originate from and how they evolve into our current practices,” said Peshy Raitport, a past student of the hilchos niddah course. “Learning this shifted my perspective of niddah to a deeper level.”
Mirel Freund, another student who took the niddah course said, “I found the course to be intellectually stimulating and insightful. It took a mitzvah that I have never had the opportunity to delve into deeply and really gave it some halachic and historical context.”
Women who are interested in joining the course can learn more and register on the website here: https://www.batshevalearningcenter.com/courses/taq6y
The course is open to both single and married women.
