Fertility

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Mar 9, 2025, 1:07 PM

‘Abuse’ of newborn babies!

It has just come to my attention that non-citizen mothers who choose home birthing can no longer receive a birth certificate from the Ministry of Interior. Their only option to receive a birth certificate is to bring their newborns...

Jonathan Muskat

Jan 8, 2025, 5:22 PM

Teaching Family Planning: Empowering Students to Navigate Halachic Decisions

This week, I finished teaching my unit on family planning in my twelfth-grade medical ethics elective, where I address sensitive topics such as abortion, fertility treatments, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, organ transplantation, brain death, hazardous medical procedures, and end-of-life care....

Elchanan Poupko

Dec 5, 2024, 2:56 AM

Fertility and Facts: Dangers of Fictional Halacha

Last week, an Israeli judge delivered a ruling on the heartwrenching modern-day Solomon trial of the baby born in Asuta hospital in an IVF mixup. After two years of “baby Sophia” being raised by the mother who carried her...

Oct 29, 2024, 11:14 AM

The miscarriage misconception: Suffering in (less) silence

From Chari Pere's film, 'Miscarried: An Unspoken Cartoonmentary.' (courtesy, Chari Pere)

Pregnancy loss is hard enough; thinking you can't talk about it makes the pain that much worse. I'm trying to change this culture of secrecy

May 6, 2024, 1:39 AM

Jews and Their Political Stupidity

Irving Kristol's 1999 essay "On the Political Stupidity of Jews" has remained sadly relevant over the quarter-century since its publication. Kristol argues that the Jews' long history as a powerless minority has left them with much less in the...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Dec 27, 2023, 7:23 PM

The Blessing of the Children

Yaakov blessed Efraim and Menashe, Yosef’s sons, with the bracha of HaMalach HaGoel (Breisheet 48:16): The Angel who redeemed me from all evil, should bless the lads, and let my name be called on them, together with the name of...

Nov 19, 2023, 7:16 PM

Joy Resulting From (Not Despite) Pain

This piece was originally a derasha I gave at the Queens Jewish Center on Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei 5783/2022. It comes from a very personal place - it only captures part of the journey and a fraction of the pain....

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Nov 1, 2023, 5:41 PM

Why we need the angels to come back

In Parshat Vayera (Breisheet 18:1) we see that Avraham was living in Elonei Mamre (the Oaks of Mamre): God appeared to him in Elonei Mamre and he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the...

Elchanan Poupko

Jul 2, 2023, 9:16 AM

Infertility Lack of Awareness Month

As we conclude Infertility Awareness Month, I propose we also begin observing infertility lack of awareness month as well. Let me explain. Especially as Jews, and much more so Orthodox Jews, there is a great deal of value, attention,...

Elchanan Poupko

May 25, 2023, 6:27 AM

Netflix’s Jewish Matchmaking Is a Wakeup Call

Netflix’s Jewish Matchmaking series highlights a topic long ignored by too many: the life of people who are not married in the general Jewish but especially Orthodox community. While this topic is often referred to as a “singles crisis”...

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