Expecting Miracles is a collection of refreshingly honest and inspiring interviews with traditionally observant Jewish mothers about their diverse experiences of pregnancy and childbearing. It is about the ways in which mothers have managed to make these important stages in their lives into a time for personal growth, spirituality and real-life miracles. These wonderfully different, engaging and vibrant women, who represent a wide cross-section of the religious community, will quickly draw you in. Their personal stories will energize you to approach your own pregnancy with new insights and understanding. Have you ever asked yourself what Judaism can teach you about pregnancy? Leading Jewish women scholars, including Rabbaniot Chana Henkin, Tziporah Heller and Emuna Witt offer illuminating ideas for making these nine months more meaningful. Shaarei Tsedek Medical Center’s Bambi Chalkowski, Jerusalem’s most senior midwife, and alternative birthing midwife Sarah Landau will leave you more confident and well-informed for your journey of bringing your new baby into the world.
In addition, you will discover that Jewish mysticism holds a treasure-chest of practical ideas as well as kabbalistic breathing exercises to make your birth a more positive and spiritually-enhancing experience. Everyone talks about the “miracle of pregnancy,” but how often have you, the expectant mother, actually felt that way about this experience? After the first burst of enthusiasm when you received the results of your pregnancy test, you have probably found, as most of us do, that processing this earth-shaking transition gets pushed aside by the rush and routine of daily life and the unrelenting demands of work/study, family and home.
The time that you take to read this book over the course of your pregnancy will provide the necessary space in your life to recapture that original sense of awe and wonder, and will enable you to discover ways in which you can revitalize your pregnancy experience by growing and developing along with the baby inside of you. Expecting Miracles is filled with emotions that will touch the heart of anyone who has ever traveled the path towards motherhood and will inspire readers to find meaning, spirituality and Jewish expression in their own childbearing experiences. It provides new insights for pregnant women through a diverse array of personal accounts of pregnancy and childbirth by traditionally observant women living in Jerusalem, and includes interviews with distinguished educators and midwives, who discuss how pregnancy and childbirth relate to Judaism and the religious community.
About the Author
Chana (Jenny) Weisberg, also known as the Jewish Pregnancy Lady, is the founder of the popular website JewishPregnancy.org. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Hebrew University’s Graduate School of Social Work, and devoted several years to intensive study at institutions for Jewish learning. Chana is the mother of three and lives in Jerusalem.