PREGNANCY

Reform:

The first mitzvah (commandment) in the Bible is "Be fruitful and multiply." For Jews, having children is both a religious obligation and the crown of human life, the source of greatest happiness. With the wondrous birth of a child, the life cycle is renewed. Judaism is rich in customs accompanying the miracle of life, from conception to birth and beyond.

A question that sometimes comes up, why is a person known as the offspring of his or her father, while religion is conveyed through the mother? An interesting question indeed. The Bible is thoroughly peppered with the expression of his, her, my, or they "father's house." Like it or not, the early Hebrews, along with their other Semitic and Mesopotamian neighbors, lived in a "man's" world. It was "from a man's loins" that came offspring, and the tribe or clan continued. Hence, identification followed that of the male.

As to religious verification, however, whereas paternity might sometimes be in question, there was certainly no doubt as to whom the mother was. Hence the rule was established that from the mother came the religious identification.