I am Rabbi Birdie Becker and I sit on the Executive Board of the Rocky Mountain Rabbis and Cantors council. Prior to becoming clergy, I was a medical social worker and worked in the reproductive health field for nearly twelve years including as a visiting educator, head counselor, director of an outpatient surgical center and outreach lead for genetic testing and counseling centers. I was active in the field pre-Roe v. Wade and am therefore familiar with the legal restrictions around contraception for unmarried couples as well as the struggles, social, emotional, spiritual and legal, for access to abortion.

While in general it is safe to say that no one speaks for all Jews, it is also safe to say that in Judaism, life and birthing life is sacred. So much so that if a blind woman who is giving birth requests that a candle be lit on Shabbat, a clear prohibition of the Sabbath, one is nonetheless obligated to light that candle.

Laws around conception, life and birth endanger the separation of church and state by placing one religious belief ahead of others.  Jewish law says that life begins when the head appears or should it be a breach birth, when the majority of the fetus has emerged. Both the Torah and the Talmud tell us that a fetus is potential life but not a separate life from the mother.

Rashi, the pre-eminent Biblical commentator, (France 1050 CE, middle ages) goes so far as to say that a fetus is not nefesh, not a person. The Babylonian Talmud (Yevamot 69b) states that “the embryo is considered to be mere water until the fortieth day (after conception).” Thereafter the “fetus is as the thigh of its mother, i.e., it is deemed to be part and parcel of the pregnant woman’s body.”

This duality is easily expressed in the idea that if a pregnant woman converts to Judaism, her conversion applies to her fetus. That fetus is born a Jew because it was part of the woman carrying it. If it were a separate entity, it too, would need to undergo conversion upon birth.

The life that we know, takes precedent over potential life. The fully existent human life has control over her body. The fetus, is a rodef, a pursuer. In self-defense, the woman has the right to protect herself if the fetus places her life at risk. The Mishna describes the steps a woman endangered during childbirth is allowed to take in order to save her life.

In Mishneh Torah’s Laws of Mourning (1:6), Maimonides writes that “we do not mourn for fetuses, for anything which does not live for 30 days…” This is supported in the Shulchan Arukh, the compendium of everyday laws. (Yoreh De’ah 374:8)

The word halacha, Jewish law, comes from the word meaning to walk, to go. The sages of every era write responsum to bring the laws into a delicate balance of ethical teachings, historic and current values and current knowledge. Knowing what we know about pregnancy and childbirth, the halacha has not changed. Neither an embryo nor a fetus are recognized as fully formed human life. A woman, with the strength of family, medical assistance and her own spiritual counsel still controls her body. She has the right to weigh pregnancy against her physical, emotional, spiritual and economic concerns. She is the fully formed human being: the one to be protected. She is the sacred life around which decisions must be made.
"I'm proud to bring my faith into this important conversation." 
 
Rabbi/Cantor Birdie Becker
M.S.W., M.Ed., M.R.S., Ph.D.
Centennial/Pueblo CO 720-849-5270
www.rabbibirdiebecker.com 

Shalom Park, Rabbi, 
 https://shalompark.org
Certified Eden Associate

Temple Emanuel-Pueblo, Rabbi/Cantor Emerita, www.TempleEmanuelPueblo.net

Life Cycle Officiant, https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/rabbi-birdie-becker-englewood/d32f58f32e253da3.html

B'nai B'rith Colorado, Admin.  https://bnaibrithcolorado.org

 APPLES AND HONEY, violin-cello duo. HEAR US at
http://apples-and-honey.wixsite.com/music

Conversations at the Well: Where Modern Life and Ancient Stories Meet: available on KINDLE at: AMAZON/ paperback at www.rabbibirdiebecker.com

Proud to have signed the National Council of Jewish Women's Letter from Clergy

Dear Senators: 
As Jewish clergy leaders from across the United States representing all major denominations of Judaism, we write to express our strong and unequivocal support for the Women’s Health Protection Act and urge the Senate to pass the bill.
In partnership with the National Council of Jewish Women, we represent a network of over 1,500 Rabbis and Jewish Clergy for Repro who have pledged to speak out about abortion justice in our communities and to educate others about the Jewish values underpinning our support for abortion access for all. We work to ensure that our communities are places where anyone who has, or may ever, terminate a pregnancy feels loved and welcomed, where people understand what our tradition teaches about these issues, and where we emphasize the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice for everyone.
The Women’s Health Protection Act embodies this mission and our hope for a future where all are free to make their own moral and faith-informed decisions about their lives, their futures, and their families without political interference. It is profoundly unjust that abortion bans and restrictions fall hardest on those already facing barriers to exercising their human rights — including Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); those working to make ends meet; members of the LGBTQI+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
In Judaism, we consider pikuach nefesh, the saving and preserving of life, to be one of our most critical principles. We affirm that protecting the existing life of the pregnant person is paramount at all stages of pregnancy. In Judaism, a fetus does not have the same personhood status as one who is already living and functioning in the world, up until and into the onset of labor and childbirth (Mishnah, Ohalot 7:6). The Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 69b) asserts that the fetus is “mere fluid” for the first 40 days (from conception; that which would be considered 7 or 8 weeks’ gestation by today’s counting) and, following this period, the fetus is regarded as a physical part of the pregnant individual’s body (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 23b).
This is why we understand the goal of the Women’s Health Protection Act — ensuring equal access to abortion nationwide — not only as an abortion justice issue and a core social justice issue, but as a matter of religious freedom as well. The US Constitution demands that no one religion should be enshrined in law or dictate public policy on any issue, including abortion.
Policies granting “fetal personhood” rights or establishing that “life” begins at conception are contrary to the teachings of our tradition and violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by enshrining one religious view into law. What’s more, because Jewish law not only permits abortion in many cases but also requires it when the life or health (including psychological and physical health) of the pregnant individual is at risk, laws limiting or restricting access to abortion directly impede Jews’ ability to practice Judaism, further violating the Free Exercise Clause while simultaneously infringing upon the constitutional right to privacy found in the Fourteenth Amendment.
We need federal legislation now more than ever. With the passage of SB 8 in Texas and the strong possibility that the Supreme Court will overturn or significantly gut the protections of Roe v Wade this year, and over 100 new abortion bans passed in 2021 alone, there is more at stake now for reproductive and religious freedom than has been in fifty years. The Women’s Health Protection Act would create a new tool for safeguarding access to high-quality care and securing constitutional rights by protecting patients and providers from political interference. The bill guarantees providers the right to deliver abortion care — and people the right to receive that care — without limitations that single out abortion or impede access to care. Notably, the bill would also establish clear guidance for courts considering whether a requirement impedes access to abortion care in violation of Women’s Health Protection Act.
We call on the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to protect access to abortion and to help us build a society where all can participate equally and thrive in our communities with dignity and freedom.


Respectfully, 

To see signers go to: https://www.ncjw.org/news/513-jewish-clergy-leaders-letter-support-whpa/#

INVOCATION: PROTECTING HOUSES OF WORSHIP 11.17.21

God spoke the world into existence and it was good.

But when God formed humanity in the Divine image no words were spoken. A breath, an energy, a spirit was imbued directly into them.

A blessing was offered to this life. The blessing was not for beauty or strength. The blessing was not for power or wealth. The blessing offered responsibility and restrictions. The blessing offered inclusivity and belonging.

When James Madison, in 1776, wrote, ​“That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it,…” he understood those responsibilities. He continued, “…(this) can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence;..” A reminder that power is ultimately with the Architect of the World, and no wealth is preeminent to the gift of life.  “…and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience;…” This completed for an emerging nation the connection to the emergence of humanity itself.

We come together to protect that breath that transfers from one Divine image to another. Breath that is altered too often with words that create distrust and distance.  Words that manipulate a blessing to fear and fear to hate. Words that encourage violence instead of protection. Words then carve out separations and forge narrow passages. Words that warp the sparks of creation.

In Genesis, Jacob and Esau meet after 20 years of separation and enmity. Jacob, now called Yisrael, had fled in fear from a hate born of a stolen blessing. Jacob approaches his brother and offers a gift to Esau saying, “…seeing your face is like seeing the face of God” (Gen 33:10).

Dear God, We turn to you, the Designer of all we have, all we share and all we are pledged to protect. We seek that connection, that kinship to all of creation that began with Your words.  We ask for wisdom, strength and endurance to remember that we all descend from a single blood line from those first beings, a single human heritage, the heritage of a Divine image in each person.  We implore you to bring soon, a time when every individual, each community and all of humanity act and interact, with all our differences acknowledged, as if in each encounter, we are blessed with ‘seeing the face of God’. We long for that day. For then, peace will reign on earth as in heaven.

Amen
 
 

The synagogue was established in 1730, not 1970. Sorry. I misspoke when recording.

The Seder Plate and its meaning

https://www.facebook.com/RabbiBirdieBecker/videos/2822597751129359/

Reciting Kaddish in Isolation:
a drash and opportunity

https://www.facebook.com/RabbiBirdieBecker/videos/705885066817737/

(you may need to copy the above url into your browser)

Shalom Chevra,

A quick public service message to say you are important, you matter, you count. In the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, a census of the Jews traveling through the desert is taken, twice. At the beginning of the journey and again at its end. Funds were raised and property/assets disbursed according to the counting.

The National Faithful Census Weekend is coming up March 27-29. Please be counted. Fill out your Census as an act of community empowerment this weekend or anytime over the coming weeks. The Census can (and should!) be done from the safety and comfort of your home. It is simple, safe and secure and can be done by going to www.2020census.gov. A complete count determines Congressional representation as well as federal resources to Colorado for the next ten years, approximately $2,300 per person per year to support social safety net programs including Unemployment Insurance, Highway grants, Water Pollution Control State, Interstate, and Tribal Program Support, Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities, State and Drug Free Schools and Community Grants, Child Abuse and Neglect State Grants, National Fire Plan - Wildland Urban Interface Community Fire Assistance and hundreds more. You can see that these funds go towards a vast variety of issues important to our state and its inhabitants. 

When we answer the Census, we declare that we are part of “we the people” and commit to doing our part to bring critical funding and political representation to Colorado.

We each embody the Divine image, b'tzelem Eloheem. As we continue to watch out for one another by carefully following the CDC and WHO guidelines to get through COVID 19, we ask for blessings for those who are ill, those on the front lines taking care of them: physicians, nurses, aides, transportation workers, administrators; those providing resources for the general public at stores, pharmacies, transportation sources, police and fire personnel; the teachers learning to adapt to online curriculums and student interaction; and all those who are researching, creating, assisting in the worldwide fight against this virus. We extend Mi Sheberach blessings as well as for everyone, each and every person who needs support, hope and strength to weather these circumstances. Every person counts and we give thanks we are here to participate in this counting.

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.


Blessings and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Becker

A Taste of Shabbat for when we are physically separated:
Shabbat Shalom

https://www.facebook.com/RabbiBirdieBecker/videos/208917203693428/