Religious rituals and secular rituals: interpenetrating models of childbirth in a modern, Israeli context

Sociology of Religion, Spring, 1993 by Susan Starr Sered

In sum, the range of meaning of fertility rituals contracts in modern societies; emphasis moves from the cosmos and the society at large, to the particular mother and baby. Ironically, the narrowing of emphasis is conducive to the widening of ritual choices. If childbirth rituals concern only the particular parents and the rituals are aimed only at safeguarding the mother and baby, nontraditional and secular rituals may be as appealing as traditional and religious rituals.

THE RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES

Jewish women's childbirth rituals, most of which are not required by Jewish law, are rather easily modified or reinterpreted in response to changing circumstances. One result of the extra-halachic (nonobligatory) status of the rituals described in this article is that women feel fairly free to select rituals or constellations of rituals that meet their needs and strike their fancy. Of the women interviewed in this study, no two performed the identical ritual package, even though several came from similar ethnic and educational backgrounds (cf. the three women described above). When I asked the women why they had performed one ritual and not another, the answer consistently was that the ritual chosen "nira-li" (seems good to me). It must be emphasized that this freedom of selection arises not because women are deemed powerful and wise, but because women's ritual lives are deemed marginal and receive little attention in official, legal texts.(7)

Obligatory rituals are closely controlled in terms of precisely how they are conducted; the childbirth rituals performed by the women reflect a great deal of personal choice in the manner of performance. For example, almost all Israeli women observe a prohibition on preparing for the baby before the birth, yet they observe this prohibition in a variety of ways. While some women prepare and buy nothing and even refuse to accept gifts, others are more practical. Several women reported that they do not buy anything, but they do knit baby clothes which must be started in advance in order to have the garments ready for the baby. Other women wait until the ninth month of pregnancy and then prepare. Still others apologize that they "only do what is really necessary." "Really necessary" may include laundering clothes from the previous baby but not preparing the crib or bottle, preparing what one has in the house but not making new purchases, or ordering from a store but delaying delivery.

Not only are women at liberty to select rituals, they also select interpretations of rituals. Reasons given for not preparing for the baby include:

Fear of the evil eye

Obedience to Jewish law (in fact it is not forbidden by Jewish law to prepare for the baby, but some women do not know this)

Custom

Psychology

Respect for the preferences of other family members

Caution ("Don't count your chickens before they hatch.")

Of particular interest is that many women offered multiple explanations reflecting "official" and "folk," or "scientific" and "superstitious" orientations: