{"id":38225,"date":"2018-08-21T07:20:14","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T04:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=38225"},"modified":"2022-03-15T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T14:02:00","slug":"emotions-of-a-barren-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/emotions-of-a-barren-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotions of a Barren Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[521,522,513],"acf":{"old_id":"38225","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38045,"related_cahpter":"29","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Despite medical breakthroughs, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gen 29: 31 \u2013 &#8220;And the LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The pressure is on for Rachel. Her womb is barren. She is infertile. She cannot produce a child. This is HER issue. Rachel feels this sense of guilt and shame that her body has failed her. Jacob is not the one with fertility issues, he has children with his other wife, Leah. Where does that leave Rachel? Frustrated, sad, angry, jealous, stuck and alone. Many women (and men) who suffer from infertility today relate to Rachel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The verse implies that fertility is a reward or a pity-present gifted to Leah and that because Rachel was loved, she deserved to suffer. There is a stigma surrounding fertility where the woman is blamed for this medical issue that does not exist when it comes to other medical conditions. Certainly infertility feels like a punishment. It is an attack on all of your plans and visions for your future. As someone who has gone through what Rachel has gone through, I have asked myself \u201cWhat did I do wrong to deserve this?\u201d \u201cWhy me?\u201d And even, \u201cWhy her, and not me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rachel gets to a place in her fertility journey where she envied her sister Leah and tells her husband, Jacob, \u201cGive me children, or I shall die.\u201d Infertility really is that powerful. Jewish identity is so intertwined with children that it often leaves adults without children feeling alone, isolated, and even suicidal. Couples struggling to build their own families feel left out of Jewish life cycle events, holiday celebrations, Shabbat invites, and they are often overlooked or not included in leadership roles within the Jewish Community. Emotions are raw and painful and Jacob too is frustrated. He tells Rachel that it really has nothing to do with him, it\u2019s up to God. Jacob may be trying to be a supportive partner but instead, he further alienates himself from Rachel, leaving her even more alone. Fertility puts additional pressure and stress on marriages. This is not how they envisioned their life together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to medicine, fertility breakthroughs and adoption, women and families today have many more options and resources on how to face their infertility. However, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel in Biblical times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":38226,"id":38226,"title":"shutterstock_776784970","filename":"shutterstock_776784970.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/emotions-of-a-barren-woman\/shutterstock_776784970\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"shutterstock_776784970","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":38225,"date":"2018-08-21 04:20:02","modified":"2022-03-15 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of a Barren Woman","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Despite medical breakthroughs, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":38226,"id":38226,"title":"shutterstock_776784970","filename":"shutterstock_776784970.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/emotions-of-a-barren-woman\/shutterstock_776784970\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"shutterstock_776784970","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":38225,"date":"2018-08-21 04:20:02","modified":"2022-03-15 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