{"id":125,"date":"2011-08-02T12:21:12","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T16:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/?p=125"},"modified":"2011-08-06T09:25:32","modified_gmt":"2011-08-06T13:25:32","slug":"lactation-without-representation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/?p=125","title":{"rendered":"Lactation Without Representation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image:<\/a>It was late last night.\u00a0 I passed by my son\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Mom,\u201d Erik said.\u00a0 \u201cDid you know that some men can breastfeed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaaah,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cCome on.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Erik pointed to his computer screen.\u00a0 He was reading an article on male lactation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood grief!\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cTalmud was right!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a story in Talmud about a man who breastfeeds,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Erik scanned the screen.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it mentions that here.\u201d\u00a0 He began reading: \u2018There have been countless literary descriptions of men miraculously breast-feeding, from The Talmud<\/em> to Tolstoy, where, in Anna Karenina,<\/em> there is a short anecdote of a baby suckling an Englishman\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNice!\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cTalmud gets a passing mention and Tolstoy gets a whole paragraph!\u00a0 Talmud is far<\/em> more interesting than Tolstoy!\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point my husband, Ralf, turned round the corner and speculated on whether I had been drinking something I shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0 I admit it: My congregation gives me grape juice for leading Kiddush, as I will get quite silly after consuming two tablespoons of Manischewitz.\u00a0 And yes, I know that Manischewitz is not wine.\u00a0 But it does count as alcohol.\u00a0 Really.\u00a0 Well, at least for small children and me.<\/p>\n

The Talmudic text in question (Shabbat 53b) makes for interesting reading.\u00a0 In it, a poor man\u2019s wife dies, leaving him with a nursing child.\u00a0 He can\u2019t afford a wet nurse.\u00a0 A miracle occurs and his breasts \u201copen,\u201d allowing him to nurse his own child.<\/p>\n

The rabbis, as always, proceed to discuss the matter.\u00a0 Rabbi Yosef exclaims that the poor man must be a great guy, a real mensch<\/a>.\u00a0 That explains the miracle.\u00a0 Rabbi Abaye is of the contrary opinion.\u00a0 The fellow must be a real schlemiel<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Otherwise, divine intervention would have focused on helping him find a job so he could afford to pay a wet nurse.\u00a0 Instead, he got slammed with a solution that did the humane thing by keeping the kid alive but could only have afforded major embarrassment. \u00a0(Men are not encouraged to be women in the Talmud\u2026).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yehuda insists that it\u2019s pretty hard for heaven to change the fate of a man when it comes to job searches and a lousy economy.\u00a0 Rabbi Nachman concludes the discussion by stating firmly that a miracle did occur no matter how you shake it, but that one must admit that the guy did not get gainfully employed.\u00a0 Lack of employment isn\u2019t so good in any age.<\/p>\n

You gotta love Talmud.\u00a0 You really do.<\/p>\n

You can find more about male lactation in rabbinic texts.\u00a0 Genesis Rabbah (30:8) features the rabbis speculating on the weaning of Queen Esther after both parents died.\u00a0 Mordecai is a prime candidate for male lactation and the survival of his niece.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to have a loving family.<\/p>\n

There is<\/strong> a scientific explanation for male lactation.\u00a0 You can read all about the hormones that can cause men to get happy and produce milk.\u00a0 I have also learned that extreme stress combined with strenuous physical activity and a shortage of food can cause male lactation.<\/p>\n

Hmmm\u2026. Poor guy + hungry baby = extreme stress.\u00a0 Tada!!!\u00a0 Male milk!\u00a0 I mean, why not?\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what happens to women!<\/p>\n

\u201cI kinda wish more men would lactate,\u201d I told Erik and Ralf.\u00a0 \u201cSome of these rabbis seemed to approve of the idea \u2013 why didn\u2019t they pray for more such miracles?\u00a0 Then women could have gotten to do all those men things so much earlier in history.\u00a0 Women rabbis in the Middle Ages! I can see it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not sure there\u2019s a direct correlation,\u201d Erik said slowly.\u00a0 \u201cLactating men doesn\u2019t lead inevitably to women on the bima<\/a>.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve had women in the pulpit for years and their menfolk have not been bursting out with milk.\u00a0 At least I am sure I haven\u2019t.\u00a0 Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ralf had left the room.\u00a0 Probably, he had better things to do.<\/p>\n

You learned something from all this, I am sure.\u00a0 Put War and Peace <\/em>away.\u00a0 For entertainment, just read the Talmud.<\/p>\n

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