Exploring Midwifery in Jewish History: A Seudah Shelishit for Parshat Shemot

The Torah portion of Shemot introduces the Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Pu’ah, who take responsibility for saving Jewish baby boys from being cast into the Nile following Pharaoh’s decree. But just who were these Hebrew midwives, and what is the legacy of midwifery in Jewish history? In this talk, Jordan Katz will discuss her doctoral research on Jewish midwives in the premodern world, with an eye toward midwives’ unique communal roles as providers of obstetric care to Jewish women, and more broadly, how these women shaped various aspects of premodern Jewish life.