Posted on 12/30/2015 2:34:53 PM PST by Morgana
“I can’t imagine bringing my child into this world without being able to provide him with a bed to sleep in,†the woman tearfully explained to an EFRAT volunteer.
The volunteer was horrified. “It is unthinkable,†she said, “that a life will be lost for lack of a crib.â€
On Saturday, in synagogues around the world, the weekly portion from Exodus will be read. This portion features the incredible dedication of the first recorded Jewish midwives, named Shifra and Puah. Driven by desperation, Pharaoh commanded the two women to kill all the newborn Jewish boys. Displaying remarkable personal commitment they defied the decree, not only by helping the women give birth, but by nurturing and sustaining all the newborn babies.
This time of year has therefore been designated within the Jewish calendar, as an opportunity to highlight the value of bringing a life into the world. This month, the Chief Rabbis of Israel wrote a letter to all community leaders worldwide. The letter is an appeal to raise public awareness of the value of each life and to highlight that according to Jewish law, a fetus is considered a living being. See translated letter below.
Each year approximately 40,000 terminations are carried out in Israel, many due to socio-economic difficulties. EFRAT, an Israel based non-profit organization, provides women with the necessary support to allow them to have their babies.
EFRAT has been carrying out life-saving work since it was founded in the 1950’s by Mr. Herschel Feigenbaum, a survivor of the Holocaust. Mr Feigenbaum understood that children are our future and in memory of the over one and a half million Jewish children who perished, he founded EFRAT. Dr Eli Schussheim, formally a senior surgeon, has made this dream a reality, leading the organization for over 37 years. To date there are over 64,000 EFRAT babies.
EFRAT provides critical support to women who face a pregnancy in difficult socio-economic circumstances. Due to these constraints, countless women feel that their only option is to terminate their pregnancy. With emotional, financial and medical support, women feel empowered to make the choice to have their babies. Financial aid is provided in the form of immediate practical support. This includes supplying new mothers with a crib, stroller, baby bath, a set of clothing and basic equipment on the baby’s arrival. Packages of diapers, formula and food for the family are provided throughout the first two years of the baby’s life.
Additionally, EFRAT volunteers assist women on a daily basis with a listening ear and emotional support. They help women to exercise their rights and find ways to improve their difficult circumstances.
To learn more about EFRAT’s vital work please visit their website www.efrat.info.il/english/
—
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel
57764 Teves th 16th December 2015
Greetings to Rabbis and community leaders worldwide,
Over the years, many have used the weekly portion of Exodus as an opportunity to highlight the value of bringing children into the world. In contrast, it is a time to emphasize the prohibition of terminating a pregnancy without Rabbinic sanction.
Unfortunately, in recent times, public awareness of this has decreased. It is therefore crucial to bring this to the public’s attention and to clarify that according to Jewish law, a fetus is considered a living being. The Rabbis interpret the biblical verse â€He who sheds the blood of man, in man.†by asking the following question. Who is the man within the man? The answer given: This is a fetus in its mother’s womb.
The right of a fetus to live does not compare to a mother’s right to live. In circumstances where a fetus is endangering the life of the mother, there is a duty for a Rabbi to prioritize a mother’s life over that of the fetus. However, when the mother’s life is not in danger, there is no dispensation which permits ending the fetus’s life.
Efrat is a leading organization that has taken on the responsibility to champion this cause. With Dr Eli Schussheim at its head, Efrat can testify to thousands of lives that have been saved as a result of their work.
This week, we appeal to all Rabbis to highlight the importance of preventing unnecessary terminations. In their speeches, they should emphasize the tremendous dedication of the Jewish midwives in their goal to save babies. They should also point out that Efrat is able to provide further information as required and will be happy to give any guidance on the issue that may be helpful.
In a call to save lives,
David Lau Yitzchak Yosef Chief Rabbi of Israel Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
Sad.
40,000 abortions in a population of just 8 million. Israel is a secular paradise.
You realize they could have already outnumbered the muslims. What where they thinking?
In this day and age there is NO reason to get pg if you don’t want to. Taking a pill or putting on a condom take much less effort than having to decide on an abortion or raising a kid who isn’t wanted.
They like the same ‘freedom and liberty’ Satan sells in America...
True. They took an oath, too, that it would never happen anywhere ever again.
OK so the article is about a group of people who love babies enough to fight for their chance to survive and have a good start at life. These people care so much they put their time & money into nurturing and empowering women who were without choices for whatever reason.
Why not celebrate the good these people are doing rather than throwing stones at women you have not met, whose individual stories you do not know?
I am strengthened and lifted up by the work they are doing to cherish the weakest amongst us.
The problem with your argument is that most abortions in the US are performed on women who were contracepting when they got pregnant. Many of those were using more than one form of birth control.
So you see, contraception is a lie. If you don’t want to have a baby, don’t have sex.
A portion of the abortions are probably Christian and muslim.
Israel, of all nations should know better.
Proverbs 6:
These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
Somebody asked what ‘they were thinking’...I gave them an answer.
Freedom and liberty. Same reason Jerusalem has gay pride parades- all against what a ‘holy’ set apart nation should participate in..
Not the freedom and liberty the Messiah of Israel gives.
If the question was directed to those people who are fighting Satan over there, my answer would have been different..
“Same reason Jerusalem has gay pride parades-”
This is true! #1 gay town in the world the world mind you, not San Fran, or New York but is Jerusalem!
They also have legal abortion. They survive the Holocaust but do that? It so floors me!!
Israel has shed blood of its innocent babies before. The OT is full of their whoring after foreign gods. Now the entire world does it and judgement will come.
they should pass a law that abortions are legal, but only if the parents commit suicide while getting the abortion
That crib excuse is bogus. I would bet there is no law in Israel that mandates that she keep and raise the baby. I also bet there are thousands of people ready, willing and able to care for and raise the baby.
Those excuses are illogical and untruthful. If she really cared about the well being of the infant she wouldn’t kill it.
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Do you have a source for this, please?
Those addicted to homosexuality even bring lawsuits to allow them to hold their parades in Jerusalem. It is an awful disgrace. On a psychological level, it’s clear that they know they are committing cardinal sin in their homosexual choice, so want to weaken and in their perverse thinking possibly destroy the parental voice of morality and its symbolic location in the world.
They want to destroy the holy city that represents God’s regency over the world. It’s the same as a preschooler wildly hitting his parents for disciplining him with the rules of right and wrong.
These poor souls want not only to break God’s most important law, but they want to be applauded for doing so. It could not be clearer what really drives them.
The homosexual propagandists are extremely juvenile in their emotions and are retarded in their development.
Israel’s open society allows them to act like arrested development morons.
Better that than what is done to people who practice homosexuality in Muslim countries.
You’re quite correct about the gay pride parades in Jerusalem, although it’s worth noting that Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders worked together to try to stop them. That doesn’t make Jerusalem gay-friendly, any more marching Nazis made Skokie Nazi-friendly.
Tel Aviv, OTOH, is pretty close to San Francisco on the Mediterranean.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.