A Time to Be Born

Customs & Folklore of Jewish Birth

by Michele Klein
The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia
www.jewishpub.org
405 pp

During the gaonic period, Jews in Babylon used magic bowls to protect against a child-killing demon. Such bowls, excavated at Nippur, Mesopotamia, and dating approximately from the sixth to the eighth centuries, were buried under the threshold of houses for protective purposes.

This impressive volume is a comprehensive account of all aspects of pregnancies and childbirth, circumcision and childcare. The author, Michele Klein, a psychologist, is also the author of New Life: A Diary for Jewish Parents. She lives with her family in Israel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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