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.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A fascinating journey into previously unexplored terrain. Chana Weisberg's beautifully written book explores the little known world of Orthodox Jewish women in various stages of pregnancy: their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their beliefs as they integrate the marvels, the mysteries, the magic, and ultimately, the miracle of childbirth and mothering.
This is an important, erudite and valuable contribution… and offers fresh insights and intimate glimpses into the psychological and spiritual world of the Orthodox woman, a world where religion, above all, predominates. Although the focus of the book is on pregnancy and childbirth, the net cast here is a broad one, and we learn much about the rituals, customs, mores and beliefs of a society worlds apart from the general culture. The book is written in a very lucid, cogent and readable style, and proves to be vastly entertaining as well. --Yitta Halberstam, best-selling author of Small Miracles: Extraordinary Coincidences from Everyday Life
As a thrice-'pregnant' father, I've waded through a fair amount of the voluminous pregnancy literature. There are books that describe the physiological development of the fetus, books that debate the pros and cons of pain medication in labour, books that advise you how to deal with intrusive in-laws, books on nutrition, sex and exercise, and books that detail everything that can go wrong so luridly that it's incredible anyone reading them would ever choose to have a child.
There are almost no books, however, on the spiritual aspect of bringing a new life into the world. Chana Weisberg s path-breaking 'Expecting Miracles' goes a long way to remedying the gap.
For her book, she interviewed a range of 23 Orthodox Jewish women about their experiences of pregnancy - Sephardi and Ashkenazi, American, British, Swiss and Israeli, newly observant and frum from birth, modern Orthodox and Charedi, PhD students and full-time mothers.
They share a conviction that childbirth is not just 'something to get through with as little pain as possible' in Weisberg's phrase, but that it can be 'the highest spiritual experience of your life.' Although some are in part-time work or studying, all of the women at a certain point decided (sometimes in the face of family or societal disapproval) that bearing and raising children is their principal way of serving God.
Weisberg has coaxed from her interviewees a fascinating revelation of the inner world of religious Jewish women. They speak with a lot of humour, poignancy and honesty about dreams, premonitions, prayers and miracles, about blessings from rebbes and angelic midwives.
The interviewees also talk about morning-sickness, infertility, miscarriages, Caesarean sections, pain, exhaustion and ambivalence about motherhood. They don't idealise pregnancy or childbirth; rather they share their struggle to find meaning and a stronger connection to God through both their joys and travails.
In addition, the book includes discussions with distinguished Jewish educators such as Rabbanit Chana Henkin of the educational organisation Nishmat, and with Bambi Chalkowski, a midwife for 40 years who has delivered the grandchildren of babies who were born in her care. Weisberg has also included little-known Chasidic writings on birth from Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, who taught: 'Like life, childbirth is a lesson in accepting our limitations, and shatters the illusion that we are in control of situations in which we find ourselves.' There is also a birth meditation, based on classes of the contemporary mystic Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh, who describes how kabbalistic breathing exercises, combined with meditations on biblical verses, can enable a woman to focus on the joy inherent in the birth process, rather than on the difficulties.
Well-written and entertaining, the book is also often surprising and moving. Weisberg originally intended it to fit within the genre of ethnological study, but, as she found herself drawn to the wisdom and spirituality of her subjects, it became more of an inspirational work. She has managed to write a book about the religious and emotional world of Orthodox women that combines the strengths of looking both from the outside in, and the inside out.
Expecting Miracles also has the power to challenge conventional assumptions about women s fulfilment. Weisberg acknowledges in her introduction that it is not about women who are struggling to balance motherhood and career, the norm in the Western world. (She plans another book about such women.) All of her interviewees have opted to make motherhood their priority. Many of them clearly could have made other choices. --Rabbi Julian Sinclair, Jewish Chronicle
I am a gynecologist who got pregnant for the first time late in my life, so I was as knowledgeable as one can be when it came to the medical aspects of pregnancy and birth, but when a friend of mine who is a labor coach told me about a lecture being given by Chana Weisberg about her new book Expecting Miracles: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Pregnancy I jumped at the opportunity.
I bought the book... and loved it! I 'devoured' over Shabbos. It filled the great thirst I had to gain an understanding of the deeper meaning of this unique experience. I was then in my eighth month and because of the book, I decided to start a notebook to put down my thoughts: the verses I wanted to read and repeat during labor as well as the names of all the ladies for whom I wanted to pray. I also photocopied a full chapter of the book (the Kabbalistic birth meditation) with quotes and verses... This notebook was ready in my bag for when the big moment arrived.... And when it did, I feel that it gave me an extra level of consciousness, and a superior level of awareness, of all that's going on in Shamayim (Heaven) at that special time.
I chose this profession because I love women in general, and I am genuinely interested in what they feel or experience. This book gave me a profound perspective on something very intimate, about feelings that women rarely discuss in detail. I related so much to the book - it has truth - emes, in it, and portrays the mothers in it with so much dignity.
Despite my medical background, it turned out that I had idealized the whole process of birth a bit too much, as things did not turn out the way I had hoped for. I had a failed induction, a failed epidural, and a Cesarean under general anesthesia after close to 20 hours of labor. I then thought of the lady described in Expecting Miracles who delivered sick babies and accepted everything that happened as the will of G-d. The book helped me to remember that Hashem is the Boss and I was able to put my difficult but ultimately successful childbirth experience into the proper perspective. In general, Expecting Miracles helps a pregnant woman to make the proper mental and spiritual preparation in order to make her ready to accept G-d's plan for each of us ... and to realize that the result is so worth it!
In summary, this book fills a very big need in our Jewish religious community, and it is definitely sitting in my office waiting room. --Dr. Hava-Yael Schreiber, a senior Jerusalem-based OB/GYN, who is the medical director of Zir Chemed- Halachic Medical Center as well as an attending physician in Bikur Cholim hospital. The Jewish Press
This is an important, erudite and valuable contribution… and offers fresh insights and intimate glimpses into the psychological and spiritual world of the Orthodox woman, a world where religion, above all, predominates. Although the focus of the book is on pregnancy and childbirth, the net cast here is a broad one, and we learn much about the rituals, customs, mores and beliefs of a society worlds apart from the general culture. The book is written in a very lucid, cogent and readable style, and proves to be vastly entertaining as well. --Yitta Halberstam, best-selling author of Small Miracles: Extraordinary Coincidences from Everyday Life
As a thrice-'pregnant' father, I've waded through a fair amount of the voluminous pregnancy literature. There are books that describe the physiological development of the fetus, books that debate the pros and cons of pain medication in labour, books that advise you how to deal with intrusive in-laws, books on nutrition, sex and exercise, and books that detail everything that can go wrong so luridly that it's incredible anyone reading them would ever choose to have a child.
There are almost no books, however, on the spiritual aspect of bringing a new life into the world. Chana Weisberg s path-breaking 'Expecting Miracles' goes a long way to remedying the gap.
For her book, she interviewed a range of 23 Orthodox Jewish women about their experiences of pregnancy - Sephardi and Ashkenazi, American, British, Swiss and Israeli, newly observant and frum from birth, modern Orthodox and Charedi, PhD students and full-time mothers.
They share a conviction that childbirth is not just 'something to get through with as little pain as possible' in Weisberg's phrase, but that it can be 'the highest spiritual experience of your life.' Although some are in part-time work or studying, all of the women at a certain point decided (sometimes in the face of family or societal disapproval) that bearing and raising children is their principal way of serving God.
Weisberg has coaxed from her interviewees a fascinating revelation of the inner world of religious Jewish women. They speak with a lot of humour, poignancy and honesty about dreams, premonitions, prayers and miracles, about blessings from rebbes and angelic midwives.
The interviewees also talk about morning-sickness, infertility, miscarriages, Caesarean sections, pain, exhaustion and ambivalence about motherhood. They don't idealise pregnancy or childbirth; rather they share their struggle to find meaning and a stronger connection to God through both their joys and travails.
In addition, the book includes discussions with distinguished Jewish educators such as Rabbanit Chana Henkin of the educational organisation Nishmat, and with Bambi Chalkowski, a midwife for 40 years who has delivered the grandchildren of babies who were born in her care. Weisberg has also included little-known Chasidic writings on birth from Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, who taught: 'Like life, childbirth is a lesson in accepting our limitations, and shatters the illusion that we are in control of situations in which we find ourselves.' There is also a birth meditation, based on classes of the contemporary mystic Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh, who describes how kabbalistic breathing exercises, combined with meditations on biblical verses, can enable a woman to focus on the joy inherent in the birth process, rather than on the difficulties.
Well-written and entertaining, the book is also often surprising and moving. Weisberg originally intended it to fit within the genre of ethnological study, but, as she found herself drawn to the wisdom and spirituality of her subjects, it became more of an inspirational work. She has managed to write a book about the religious and emotional world of Orthodox women that combines the strengths of looking both from the outside in, and the inside out.
Expecting Miracles also has the power to challenge conventional assumptions about women s fulfilment. Weisberg acknowledges in her introduction that it is not about women who are struggling to balance motherhood and career, the norm in the Western world. (She plans another book about such women.) All of her interviewees have opted to make motherhood their priority. Many of them clearly could have made other choices. --Rabbi Julian Sinclair, Jewish Chronicle
I am a gynecologist who got pregnant for the first time late in my life, so I was as knowledgeable as one can be when it came to the medical aspects of pregnancy and birth, but when a friend of mine who is a labor coach told me about a lecture being given by Chana Weisberg about her new book Expecting Miracles: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Pregnancy I jumped at the opportunity.
I bought the book... and loved it! I 'devoured' over Shabbos. It filled the great thirst I had to gain an understanding of the deeper meaning of this unique experience. I was then in my eighth month and because of the book, I decided to start a notebook to put down my thoughts: the verses I wanted to read and repeat during labor as well as the names of all the ladies for whom I wanted to pray. I also photocopied a full chapter of the book (the Kabbalistic birth meditation) with quotes and verses... This notebook was ready in my bag for when the big moment arrived.... And when it did, I feel that it gave me an extra level of consciousness, and a superior level of awareness, of all that's going on in Shamayim (Heaven) at that special time.
I chose this profession because I love women in general, and I am genuinely interested in what they feel or experience. This book gave me a profound perspective on something very intimate, about feelings that women rarely discuss in detail. I related so much to the book - it has truth - emes, in it, and portrays the mothers in it with so much dignity.
Despite my medical background, it turned out that I had idealized the whole process of birth a bit too much, as things did not turn out the way I had hoped for. I had a failed induction, a failed epidural, and a Cesarean under general anesthesia after close to 20 hours of labor. I then thought of the lady described in Expecting Miracles who delivered sick babies and accepted everything that happened as the will of G-d. The book helped me to remember that Hashem is the Boss and I was able to put my difficult but ultimately successful childbirth experience into the proper perspective. In general, Expecting Miracles helps a pregnant woman to make the proper mental and spiritual preparation in order to make her ready to accept G-d's plan for each of us ... and to realize that the result is so worth it!
In summary, this book fills a very big need in our Jewish religious community, and it is definitely sitting in my office waiting room. --Dr. Hava-Yael Schreiber, a senior Jerusalem-based OB/GYN, who is the medical director of Zir Chemed- Halachic Medical Center as well as an attending physician in Bikur Cholim hospital. The Jewish Press
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!,
By Esther Kanner (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Expecting Miracles: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Pregnancy Through Judaism (Hardcover)
This book truly resonated somewhere deep within me. It connects the reader spiritually with her larger family, that of all Jewish women. The womens' stories are so honest and real; I felt like I was having a conversation over coffee with some of my oldest friends into the night as I read and read and read... Despite the fact that some of the women have different backgrounds than my own, there was something in each woman's experience I could ALWAYS relate to. It was so confirming to see, in print, so much of what I had felt during the months of my pregnany, my birth experience, and my initiation into motherhood. I HIGHLY recommend this book!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pregnant? Obsessed? Read this book,
By
This review is from: Expecting Miracles: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Pregnancy Through Judaism (Hardcover)
When I was pregnant with my first baby, all I could think about or talk about was -- being pregnant. At times I felt bogged down by the sheer physicality of it all, and longed to make it a more spiritually uplifting experience. I also wished I had other obsessive-compregnant women to talk to, so we could all take turns inspiring and/or boring each other. Reading EXPECTING MIRACLES filled all these gaps in my pregnant life! It was all I wanted to read. Women from various walks of Jewish religious life are telling you all the intimate details of their experiences as pregnant ladies and then as mothers and as wives. They give all sorts of ideas, suggestions and encouragement to make it more spiritual. YOu think, I could do that. I want to try that. I couldn't put this book down. It is a MUST-HAVE alongside WHat to Expect When You're Expecting. Expecting Miracles is like the spiritual counterpart to that sometimes too-physical (and occasionally scary) pregnancy guidebook. Expecting Miracles revels in the joy, excitement, spiritual potential and blessing that being the carrier of life is all about.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for all first time Eemas!,
By Sharonne (Sydney, AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Expecting Miracles: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Pregnancy Through Judaism (Hardcover)
When I became pregnant for the first time, I really wanted to read something that told me what I already felt in my heart - that pregnancy is the most amazing miracle ever and that hte weekly blow-by-blow account of what is happening at a physical level is not the true story of pregnancy.When I read Chana Weisberg's book - I simply could not put it down ! All the stories of strength also helped me get through the morning sickness etc... and were an excellent reminder to think beyond the phyiscal and truly appreicate the miracle that was happening inside me. I highly recommend this book without hesitation (particularly to all first time mothers-to-be).
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