The understanding of birth as a time of great danger stemmed first and fore-
most from reality; death during labor and birth was not uncommon.^91 Tradi-
tionally, pain and death during childbirth were attributed to the sin of Eve.
The Bible already states that the pain of childbirth is a punishment for that sin:
“In pain you shall bear children” (Gen. 3:16). Later, the Mishna explains that
death at childbirth is the result of laxity in performing three specific com-
mandments—the separation of the challah,^92 the lighting of the Sabbath can-
dles, and the observance of menstrual purity. These were known, in short, as
Miz·vot H·aNaH (CHallah, Niddah, and Hadlakat haNer).^93 A connection be-
tween these two explanations was implied. According to some commentators,
the reason women were held responsible for these three commandments is re-
lated to Eve’s sin. As Midrash Tanh·umaexplains:
For which transgressions do women die at the time of their childbirth? Thus have
our masters taught (Sabbath 2:6): Women die at the time of their childbirth for
three transgressions: Because they have not been careful in regard to menstruation,
in regard to challah and in regard to the lighting of the Sabbath lamp. These three
commandments are also from the Torah.... And why are women charged with
these commandments? Our sages said: During the creation of the world, Adam was
first. Then came Eve and she shed his blood in that he heeded her.... The Holy
One said: Let her be given the commandment of menstrual blood so that she may
have atonement for that blood which she shed.... Because Adam was the challah
of the world, when she came and defiled him, the Holy One said: Let her be given
the commandment of challah so that she may have atonement for the challah of
the world, which she defiled.... And the commandment of the (Sabbath) lamp
exists because Adam was the lamp of the Holy One.... But Eve came and extin-
guished it. The Holy One said: Let her be given the commandment of the lamp
in order that she may have atonement for the lamp that she extinguished.^94Although the Mishna attributes a woman’s death at childbirth to her failure to
perform the three commandments that were her domain, and this under-
standing was accepted throughout the centuries, few medieval sources em-
phasize this specific cause of guilt. Rather, the consensus seems to be that at
the hour of birth, all a woman’s deeds are judged and not just her performance
of these three female commandments. The author of Sefer H·asidimwarns
people not to gossip or discuss any bad deeds the woman may have done, since
any reminder of her sins might tip the scales against her.^95 Instead, the par-
turient was to be prayed for. In fact, the first known mention of blessings for
the sick connected to the reading of the Torah are blessings for the parturient.^96
These understandings again highlight the complex web of connections be-
tween religious understandings and biological and social realities. Many
women died in childbirth, and, as in the case of many other deaths in the Mid-
dle Ages, the justification offered was religious.
The belief that women died during childbirth because of their sins is, of