Judaism Unbound Episode 542: Jewish Bodily Autonomy - Lex and Rena Yehuda
Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman conclude a mini-series of Judaism Unbound conversations that have been exploring the principle of bodily autonomy -- and how it intersects with Judaism. They bring new elements to previous conversations about abortion, the pill, mass incarceration, and gender, along with exploring what bodily autonomy looks like in Jewish rituals like fasting for Yom Kippur.
[1] Listen in to the previous episodes in this mini-series on bodily autonomy via Episode 534: God Bless the Pill - Samira Mehta, Episode 537: Trans Jews Embody Holiness - Dubbs Weinblatt, Episode 538: Matir Asurim — Judaism and Incarceration - Shir Lovett-Graff, and/or Episode 539: Judaism and Abortion, Beyond ‘Choice’ - Danya Ruttenberg.
[2] For the Hey Alma article written by Becky Silverstein, that Lex and Rena Yehuda kicked off the episode by referencing, see “The Jewish Teaching That Supports Abortion & Trans Rights.”
[3] For more on the verse from Proverbs that Rena Yehuda mentioned, which states “The heart knows its own bitterness,” see this essay by Lauren Tuchman.
[4] Lex references the tradition, among Karaites, of marking the 7th and 10th of Av instead of the 9th of Av. For more on this, see this piece by Tomer Rami Mangoubi.
[5] For more on the Isaiah reference that Rena Yehuda made, see Episode 91: Is this the Fast that I Have Chosen? - Jonah Pesner.
[6] Lilith Magazine published a Jewish ritual for when one has an abortion, including a b’racha (blessing) — you can explore it here.
[7] Listen in to Lex and Rena Yehuda’s ideas about the Nazirite vow (plus Xava De Cordova and Michael Sokolovsky’s as well) by checking out this combo episode of Judaism Unbound and Xai How are You, entitled ”Xai Judaism, How Unbound Are You? — Mishnah Nazir”