which he discusses obstetric treatises from medieval Spain, but no work has
been done to date on Jewish society in Ashkenaz.^87 In the pages that follow I
will discuss evidence for the birthing process in Jewish sources. Information
about pregnancy and birth is discussed in passing in commentaries on the
Bible, the Talmud, and in various piyutim. Some of the commentaries are al-
legorical and use pregnancy and birth as metaphors, while others sometimes
refer to their own day and age in their remarks on biblical events. For exam-
ple, in explanations of the story of Judah and Tamar (Gen. 38) or that of the
midwives in Egypt (Exod. 2), we receive information on the methods of birth
in the past and in the contemporary medieval period. Other commentaries ex-
plain the laws related to birth such as the laws of the parturient or of circum-
cision. Additional information can be found in halakhic codes, where mun-
dane instructions on how to treat the parturient at birth can be found, and
especially in medical treatises that document common methods of treatment.
The information that can be gleaned from all these different sources illumi-
nates the way in which medieval society regarded birth.
I will begin with the allegorical interpretations. From these, we can learn
much about birth as a symbol in medieval Jewish society. Birth was understood
as the end of a long process, one that was accompanied by pain, fear, and great
danger. The parturient was considered in great peril during birth, and every
birth was accompanied by the threat of death. The hours during which a
woman sat on the mashber, (the birthing stool) were both treacherous and per-
ilous.^88 As such, the hour of birth was, in a sense, a Day of Judgment.^89 This
idea is expressed clearly in a commentary on the piyut for New Year’s Day
(Rosh haShana) “HaYom Harat Olam.” The author writes:
“HaYom Harat Olam” [Today is the conception of the world]—for all of man’s
nourishment is meted out on Rosh haShana. Like a pregnant woman who con-
ceives now and gives birth after time. For this is based on the verse “Like a woman
with child, approaching childbirth, writhing and screaming in her pangs” (Isa.
26:17), so we are before you. For the world is impregnated with the deeds of peo-
ple, good and bad, and on Rosh haShana all the deeds are accounted for and are
judged and on that very day it is decreed whether to good or to bad. On that day
the world is in peril until it is judged; just as a woman is in danger when she suf-
fers in labor, so we cry out on that day.... And that is why we say, after the sho-
far is blown, [the prayer] “haYom harat olam.” Because through the blowing of
the shofar, God’s mercy on the world is aroused, as if the world were just created.
For in Tishrei [the month in which Rosh haShana falls] man was created; there-
fore we say “haYom harat olam.” And in the poem “Elohai gadalta me’od,” there
are 271 verses [tevot] corresponding to the number of days of pregnancy [herayon
(pregnancy) 271 in gematriya] for a pregnant woman... and on Rosh haShana
the world is like a woman sitting on the birthing stool [mashber], and because a
woman is pregnant for nine months, there are nine blessings on Rosh haShana.^90