I was among many in the St. Louis Jewish community who received an email from the Jewish Community Relations Council entitled “Abortion Justice.” As I have previously written (Jewish Light, May 23, 2019), traditional Jewish teaching does not align...
Local Jewish advocacy groups reacted Tuesday to news of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito about the future of Roe v. Wade as it relates to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic case currently before the Court.
Rori...
During the High Holidays, we look to Judaism for inspiration, from the Torah, ancient prayers and from our congregations. We look for guidance and answers from our faith or to at least point us in the right direction. In our quest for social justice,...
Missouri’s abortion lawThe recent abortion law passed by the Missouri Legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Parson, which prohibits an abortion after eight weeks and does not allow an exception for incest and rape, is an egregious travesty.The law would...
By Rabbi James Bennett & Rabbi Andrea Goldstein
• Published June 6, 2019
We are grateful to our colleague Rabbi Seth Gordon for his articulate and thoughtful op-ed in the St. Louis Jewish Light on May 23 (“Jewish law, abortion and born v. unborn life”) laying out an argument that provides food for thought based on his...
As in all life matters, when it comes to abortion, Judaism doesn’t speak of rights but of responsibilities and obligations. Seeing things through that lens can be a real eye opener.The concept of “rights” is deeply ingrained in our Western minds....
By Eric Berger, Associate Editor
• Published May 23, 2019
When Dr. David Eisenberg was in high school, his mother told him her story of the pregnancy she had in 1971 in northeast Philadelphia. She and Eisenberg’s father already had two children and she became pregnant despite the fact that she had an intrauterine...
As the Missouri General Assembly headed toward adjournment last week, Gov. Mike Parson sent out a disturbing message on Twitter:“It’s time to make Missouri the most Pro-Life state in the country! Thanks to leaders in the House and Senate, we are one...
Not to be outdone in the fervent race to the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature giddily passed its extreme abortion ban, HB 126, on the final day of the session.
Once signed into law, Missouri will...
With Missouri following Alabama by passing a restrictive law limiting abortion to the first few weeks, and then only to save the life of the mother, a “teachable moment” presents itself: the view of the Jewish religion and culture. Jews and, as...
By Nancy Litz and Glenn Northern
• Published May 16, 2019
In the emotionally charged discussions around reproductive freedom, it can seem that people of faith universally support extreme, restrictive proposals like those currently before the Missouri Legislature. As people deeply committed to our respective...
JERUSALEM — In 1979, I moved from the United States to Israel, where I discovered that unlike in America, reproductive choice in Israel was by and large not an issue — not religiously, politically or socially. As the director of the Israel Office...
