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ShareBackground: What is the Mishnah Torah?
History
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Written by Rambam in the 12th century
Organization
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The Mishnah Torah is made up of 14 sections, arranged thematically, which encompass the range of Jewish law (For example: The Book of Utterances, about oaths and vows and The Book of Women, deals with family law, marriage, divorce)
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Chose to present law as unified whole, omitted differing opinions from biblical and talmudic sources, so to present as it as an undisputed legal tradition.
Purpose
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To provide a complete summary of all of oral law so that there is no other book needed to learn it.
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Mishnah Torah was designed to simplify the process of study and to make the law accessible to all.
Characteristics
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Very straightforward, systematic
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Precise language, almost encyclopedic
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minimal quoting texts
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Core values not explicitly stated
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Logic of the ruling is not stated
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Reader does not clearly see the “thread” of reasoning between all rulings
Enduring Understandings
1. Judaism places a high value on the ideal human form that qualifies as life, and therefore, halacha considers “life” as pure and “loss of life” as impure.
2. Individual purity is a concern of the entire community.
Our section addresses rulings when there is an exception to the standard pregnancy and exceptions to the standard human for of the fetus at birth. It also addresses the rulings when the gender, development, birth procedure, or mother's purity is unclear.
For example:
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When is a woman impure?
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At what age of the fetus is a miscarriage considered a lost life?
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What is a developed embryo?
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What is the ruling for C-section?
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What is the ruling for ambiguous gender?
(א) כָּל יוֹלֶדֶת טְמֵאָה כְּנִדָּה וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא רָאֲתָה דָּם. וְאֶחָד הַיּוֹלֶדֶת חַי אוֹ מֵת אוֹ אֲפִלּוּ נֵפֶל.
Every woman who gives birth is impure like a Niddah, even if she did not suffer uterine bleeding. This applies whether a woman gives birth to a living child or one which is stillborn.
(ג) אֵי זֶה הוּא שַׁפִּיר מְרֻקָּם. תְּחִלַּת בְּרִיָּתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם גּוּפוֹ כַּעֲדָשָׁה. שְׁתֵּי עֵינָיו כִּשְׁתֵּי טִפֵּי זְבוּב מְרֻחָקוֹת זוֹ מִזּוֹ. שְׁנֵי חֳטָמָיו כִּשְׁתֵּי טִפֵּי זְבוּב מְקֹרָבוֹת זֶה לָזֶה. פִּיו פָּתוּחַ כְּחוּט הַשַּׂעֲרָה. וְחִתּוּךְ יָדַיִם וְרַגְלַיִם אֵין לוֹ.
What is meant by a developed embryo? At the beginning of the formation of the human body, it is the size of a lentil. Its two eyes are like the two eyes of a fly, slightly separate from each other. Its two nostrils are like two eyes of a fly that are close to each other. Its mouth is open, a hairsbreadth and its arms, hands, and feet are not distinct.
(י) ... נִבְרָא בְּעַיִן אַחַת וְיָרֵךְ אַחַת אִם הָיוּ מִן הַצַּד הֲרֵי הוּא כַּחֲצִי אָדָם וְאִמּוֹ טְמֵאָה לֵדָה. וְאִם הָיוּ בָּאֶמְצַע אִמּוֹ טְהוֹרָה שֶׁהֲרֵי זוֹ בְּרִיָּה אַחֶרֶת:
(The following rules apply) when a fetus is created with one eye and one thing. If they are on the side, it is considered as half a human and the mother is impure due to birth. If they are in the center, the mother is pure, because this is another creature.
(יא)... שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שְׁנֵי גַּבִּין וּשְׁתֵּי שְׁדֵרוֹת. אוֹ שֶׁהִפִּילָה בְּרִיַּת רֹאשׁ שֶׁאֵינוֹ חָתוּךְ. אוֹ יָד שֶׁאֵינוֹ חָתוּךְ. כָּל נֵפֶל מֵאֵלּוּ אֵינוֹ וָלָד וְאֵין אִמּוֹ טְמֵאָה לֵדָה.
The following laws apply when a fetus has two backs and two backbones. The contours of the head of the fetus she discharged could not be distinguished or the contours of the hand could not be distinguished, the mother is not impure.
(ב) הִפִּילָה בְּיוֹם אַרְבָּעִים וְאֶחָד מֵאַחַר הַתַּשְׁמִישׁ הֲרֵי זוֹ סְפֵק יוֹלֶדֶת וְתֵשֵׁב לְזָכָר וְלִנְקֵבָה וּלְנִדָּה.
If a woman miscarried on the forty-first day after relation, there is a doubt whether she is considered as having miscarried. Hence, she is governed by the laws governing birth of a male and female and those applying to a niddah.
Fishbowl
Scientific evidence is the primary element of these halachot because it serves to back up the value of human life.
Our Essential Questions
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If Rambam’s halacha is based off of scientific evidence, if science changes does halacha change?
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What is the reasoning behind Rambam’s scientific distinction of what constitutes life?
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Why does community place so much importance on individual purity?
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While we might think that purity is a spiritual state of being, is it instead more of a technical and scientific physical state of being? Is there any internal state as well?
What area of birth are you most interested in exploring?
Hodi: conspiracy about fertility, health, and gender of baby
Danelle: Torah vs. “Pru Urvu” for women
Mira: G-d's role in birth, justification for why women aren't commanded with Pru Urvu, infertility