Alice Shalvi

The Maternal Imperative

[German]

As we learned in the impressive opening session of this conference, the nuclear family, consisting of father, mother and 2.4 children, as we knew it before World War II, and as it is still conceived of in many European and Anglo-Saxon countries, is, if not dead, then at least no longer a standard model.  It has been replaced by a variety of forms – same-sex couples, single parents, communes, surrogacy, etc.  Nevertheless, I would venture to say that within Jewish society there remains one  constant factor, namely the desire or urge to bear (or at least raise) children.

The topos of the barren woman is one that constantly recurs in our literature, especially in Genesis, the book of our forefathers and foremothers, patriarchs and matriarchs.  Ironically, perhaps the most outstanding characteristic s of the matriarchs is their initial barrenness.  Divine intervention is needed before Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel bear the longed-for sons which God has promised their husbands.  The only exception is Leah, the “unwanted” wife falsely imposed on Jacob, who assumes that the bearing of sons will win her husband’s love.

This is the other noteworthy point: it is sons that are desired, because of the tradition of inheritance by male children - not, as one might have expected, the firstborn, but the “chosen” one, usually the younger (i.e. Isaac, not Ishmael; Joseph, not his older brothers; Ephraim, not Menasshe).

In Genesis we first encounter the practice of surrogate motherhood (Hagar, Bilha, Zilpah).  In later books, we have the story of Hannah, from whom Judaism derives the concept of prayer; and of Naomi and Ruth, where the “happy end” is provided by the birth of a son “to Naomi”  – an event that reverses the loss of sons recorded in the opening chapter.

Even halakha (Jewish law) emphasizes the importance of childbearing, since a woman’s barrenness constitutes grounds for divorce.

In part, the imperative of childbirth stemmed from the need to provide an heir to continue the family’s line of land ownership.  Partly it is a fulfillment of the division of functions dictated by God after the Fall: Eve’s doom “to bear children in pain” balances Adam’s task of physical bread-winning “by the sweat of his brow.” (It is interesting to note that the English word for both activities is “labour!”)  Yet today, when the landownership issue is no longer valid and the strict division of social and economic functions is equally irrelevant, there is still a stress on woman’s childbearing “duty.”  A woman who has not borne children is frequently considered (both by herself and by others) as not having fulfilled herself, not having justified her raison d’être as a woman. Hence we are today witnessing an enormous increase in the number of single mothers by choice and lesbian couples’ adoption of children or use of in vitro fertilization, as well as adoption by heterosexual couples.  This is particularly the case in Israel today.  In 1998, there were 5,900 births to single mothers; in 1999, the number increased by 15% to 7,000.

There are other  contemporary, historical factors that combine to influence Jewish women to bear children.  One such factor is the Holocaust, which spurred an urge to replace those who had perished.  Thus we have the remarkable phenomenon of large numbers of marriages and births even in the D.P. camps, where one might have thought the circumstances far from conducive to either activity.  ?? ????? ??" – The Jewish People Lives!” and “Each birth a victory!” were – and still are – slogans that encourage childbearing as a national duty.

In Israel we also have the understandable paranoia induced by fear of extinction, annihilation, through war – a fear further strengthened by the Palestinian vaunting of their women’s wombs as the “weapon” that will ultimately overcome Israel.  The average birthrate among Jewish women is 2.8, higher than that in most developed countries, but still only half of the Israeli Arab average and far less than the Palestinians’.  Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the highest birthrate occurs among the haredi community and in the settlements on the West Bank and in Gaza.

Israeli government policy encourages large families with generous family allowances, paid maternity leave and comparatively low-cost or subsidized childcare facilities.  The Israel Defense Forces discharge women soldiers if they marry while doing their 20-month compulsory service and do not (yet) call married women to reserve duty.  Most strikingly – and shamefully – health insurance covers expensive fertility treatment up to two successful births, but does not cover contraception or family planning services.  Artificial insemination is state-subsidized and infertile women may receive ova from state-paid donors.

Religious authorities likewise encourage women to have at least ten children.  Rabbi Schach once declared “There is a blessing on all good things in nature that help to bring another soul into Israel.”  Some rabbis were even found to have been handing over fertility pills to women who were experiencing difficulties in becoming pregnant after already having given birth several times.  Abortion is legally available, but not to physically and mentally healthy married women aged 17 to 40.

Nevertheless, countering all these incentives and inducements, current research indicates the existence of other phenomena, primarily the result of Israel’s present precarious security situation.  Women are afraid of bearing sons.  Somatic symptoms are prevalent among mothers of sons serving in the military and there is apparent conflict between concern for one’s child’s safety and traditional (Jewish) attitudes that  favour sons.

Indeed, motherhood has become a political tool, not only among the settlers and the Palestinians both inside and outside Israel, but also in the peace movement.  The “Four Mothers” were instrumental in bringing about the withdrawal from Lebanon.  The “Mother for Peace” later became “Parents for Peace.”   Orthodox women have established “Women for the Sanctity of Life.” In other words, womanhood, maternity and maternal discourse legitimize the challenge to military  and government policy, thus enabling Jewish women to reconcile their “natural” maternal feelings with opposition to a government policy of aggression and occupation (that is , unfortunately, supported by a large percentage of the population) without seeming unpatriotic.  Feminists can thus get away with being subversive by playing the ancient “maternal imperative” card! All honour to them!

Recommended reading:

Susan Kahn, Reproducing Jews.  A Cultural Account of Assisted Conception. (Duke University Press, 2000)

Susan Sered, What Makes Women Sick?  (Brandeis University Press, 2000)

Prof. Dr. Alice Shalvi: Born in Germany in 1926; educated in England (1934-1949); Aliyah (1949). Member of the English Department of Hebrew University (1950-1990). Principal of Pelech, Religious Experimental High School for Girls (1975-1990). Founding chairwoman of the Israel Women's Network (1984-2000). Married to Moshe Shalvi, editor and translator, since 1950. Mother and grandmother. Until recently Rector of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (1996-2000).