Contraception and Birth Control Through Rabbinic Eyes: Ancient Competing Models of Mothering

The chapter “Contraception and Birth Control through Rabbinic Eyes” presents a discussion about rabbinic conception of birth control and mothering, through a comparative literary study of two narratives that belong to different corpora but contain similar accounts: Gen. 38 and BT Yevamot 65b. A detailed comparison of the stories raises differences that allude to an alternate concept of a woman’s identity in connection to birth and motherhood. While the later Talmudic narrative recalls the canonic biblical story in the sense that both narratives explore “strong” women that achieve their goals in a similar way, it demonstrates another attitude to prevention of pregnancy: By literary means, the Talmudic unit differentiates itself and asserts that the halakha itself, although typically excluding of women, frees her to control her life and consequently form her husband and his wishes. It stands in contrast to construction in the earlier narrative of Tamar and Judah, which, in its way, confirms the ultimate connection of women and birth. Thus, Judith’s character of the rabbinic narrative highlights considerations who overcome the normative attitude which shows women only one way to express their desires and fill their lives with contentment.