Out of the Depths I Call to You

Nina Beth Cardin received her rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1988. The former managing editor of Conservative Judaism magazine, Rabbi Cardin founded and served as director of the Jewish Women's Resource Center. She was also secretary to the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Rabbi Cardin currently edits Sh'ma magazine and teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is married to Rabbi Avram Reisner and is the mother of five.

If there is a clear role for Out of the Depths I Call to You , it is as a heartfelt gift for a newly pregnant friend. This elegant, slim volume is an English translation (plus full Hebrew text) of an 18th-century Italian woman's prayer book. Cardinstumbled upon the original (a gold-embossed antiquity dedicated to a woman named Yehudit Kutscher Coen) while wandering around inhaling leather in the Rare Book Room fo the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary... There are even instructions for the childbirth coach: When a woman attends at the birth of a friend's child she must show great devotion. She cannot allow trivial conversation or an obscene or malicious word...She must encourage the woman in labor to make a vow to perform some mitzvah, for example, spinning wool for tzitzit (prayershawl fringe), making wicks for usei n the synagogue, washing tallitot (prayershawls), or being punctilious in observing Rosh Hodesh (the new moon).. -- Lillith In 1786, Giuseppe Coen presented his bride with an exquisite gift: a book of psalms, blessings, and prayers. The volume focused on the concerns of the married woman, in particular her responsibility to create a Jewish home and bear children. In Out of the Depths I Call to You: A Book of Prayers for the Married Jewish Woman , Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin translates these prayers and provides insightful commentary, bringing to light the essence of Jewish women's liturgical and ritual experiences that have long been overlooked by scholars. By doing so she believes, "We can more authentically and authoritatively craft for the modern Jewish woman responses to religious moments so egregiously overlooked in mainstream Judaism." If there is a clear role for Out of the Depths I Call to You , it is as a heartfelt gift for a newly pregnant friend. This elegant, slim volume is an English translation (plus full Hebrew text) of an 18th-century Italian woman's prayer book. Cardin stumbled upon the original (a gold-embossed antiquity dedicated to a woman named Yehudit Kutscher Coen) while wandering around inhaling leather in the Rare Book Room fo the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary... There are even instructions for the childbirth coach: "When a woman attends at the birth of a friend's child she must show great devotion. She cannot allow trivial conversation or an obscene or malicious word...She must encourage the woman in labor to make a vow to perform some mitzvah, for example, spinning wool for tzitzit (prayershawl fringe), making wicks for usei n the synagogue, washing tallitot (prayershawls), or being punctilious in observing Rosh Hodesh (the new moon). -- Lillith

• Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Prayers to Be Said on the Taking of Hallah Chapter 3 Prayers to Be Said on the Lighting of the Shabbat Candles Chapter 4 Prayers to Be Said on the Evening She Goes to Mikveh Chapter 5 Prayers to Be Said before Going to Bed with Her Husband Chapter 6 Prayers to Be Recited on Days Tahanun Is Said Chapter 7 Prayers to Be Recited on Days Tahanun is Not Said Chapter 8 Prayers to Be Said during the First Forty Days of Pregnancy Chapter 9 Prayers to Be Said during the Entire Pregnancy Chapter 10 Prayers to Be Said during the Ninth Month of Pregnancy Chapter 11 Prayers to Be Said at the Onset of Labor Chapter 12 Prayers to Be Said at the Beginning of Delivery Chapter 13 Prayers to Be Said after Safely Giving Birth Chapter 14 Prayers to Be Said When She Nurses for the First Time Chapter 15 Prayers to Be Said before Her Son's Circumcision Chapter 16 Prayers to Be Recited When She Returns to Synagogue Chapter 17 Prayers to Be Recited When One Assists in Childbirth