Scientists in Synagogues: Michal Raucher

Friday, February 9, 2024 | Qabbalat Shabbat
Temple Israel of Boston

We welcomed guest scholar Dr. Michal Raucher for a weekend of dynamic study. During our Shabbat together, Dr. Raucher’s discussion focused on Jewish abortion stories. For the last few years, people who have had abortions have bravely shared their experiences. These stories are contributing to the normalization of abortion. In this session, we read narratives from Jews who have terminated pregnancies. Their experiences reflect the experiences of many people in the U.S. As we read these texts together, we considered how these experiences offer an important correction to the canon of Jewish sources on abortion, and what we as a Jewish community can do to normalize abortion.

Dr. Michal Raucher is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is a scholar of women in contemporary Judaism, reproductive ethics, and religious authority.

This conversation is included in our year-long program entitled “Scientists in Synagogues,” a grass-roots initiative run by Sinai and Synapses in consultation with the American Association for the Advancement of Science Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, and funded by the John Templeton Foundation, along with other individual donors.