Breastfeeding in Synagogue

by Rabbi Bradley Artson Shavit, 2005; Edited by Rabbi Robert Binder

Question (Sh’eilah)

Is it permissible to breast-feed in public, particularly in the beit midrash (house of study) and in the synagogue? And if so, what are the appropriate considerations and limitations to its practice?

Answer (Teshuvah)

While none of the traditional sources deal specifically with the question at hand, they do emphasize the virtue of modesty (tz’ni’ut) and refer to disrobing or partial nudity as immodest or even humiliation. In the one text that deals explicitly with public breast-feeding (Gittin 89a), the issue is actually about grounds for divorce, with Rabbi Akiva arguing that suckling in the street is sufficient grounds only when public opinion deems the wife’s behavior scandalous. A 19th century source, the Ish Ben Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim, Baghdad, 1834-1909,) speaking about men publicly reciting the Shema in the presence of nursing women, notes: ”It is permissible to be occupied with words of Torah, etc., at the time of nursing, for at the time of nursing, her breasts are like her hands or her face. And one can rely on this in a time of need. However, it is prohibited to recite the Shema in the presence of her breasts when not nursing.

Given that our age is one in which modesty remains an imperative, that ours is a time in which women work as equals in all fields of human endeavor, that ours is a time in which the powers of law, society, and religion must come to the aid of working parents who seek to pursue productive lives while fulfilling the mitzvah of pru u’rvu (“Be fruitful and multiply”), it seems clear that the halakhic mandate today is to permit public breastfeeding, including in a worship service or beit midrash, provided that it is done in a modest and discreet fashion.  This requirement would be met, for example, by using a cloth or towel to cover breast and baby, by maternity blouses specially made for this purpose, or by sitting toward the rear of the room. For those women who prefer to nurse in private, appropriate facilities (such as a room adjoining the sanctuary) should be offered whenever possible.

It is highly unlikely that a man will be erotically charged by the sight of a woman discreetly breastfeeding, and those men who are should seek ways to restrain themselves or to avert their gaze: “Our Rabbis taught: If a man counts out money from his hand into the hand of a woman so as to have the opportunity of gazing at her, even if he can vie in Torah and good deeds with Moses our teacher, he shall not escape the punishment of Gehinnom” (Brakhot 61a). The responsibility for restraining inappropriate male sexuality lies with men, and the responsibility for rearing up a new generation lies with us all: parents, community, and the Jewish people as a whole. It is incumbent on us to make it easier for parents to participate in communal life, and we are obligated to take aggressive steps to integrate women into public life without having to leave their distinctiveness behind. For mothers to be able to participate in public life will require that some of them will need to breastfeed in public. There is nothing in the tradition to disbar them and a good deal in the tradition to permit them.

Some will express concern about safeguarding a sense of heightened holiness attached to prayer, and a sense that some body parts are still generally concealed, both by men and by women. Custom is a powerful force in the unfolding of halakhah, and general Jewish expectations of clothing during prayer deserve a healthy respect. Maintaining a sense of the synagogue and of prayer as a sacred space is a worthy consideration, one worth supporting in our time too, but what makes for sacred space and which activities are permitted (or encouraged) there are in a state of transition. In our day, we recognize that precluding children from the sanctuary has a deleterious effect on their later Jewish observance, as well as on the possibility of their parent’s (or parents’) participation in Jewish worship now. Balancing values involvement vs. distraction is the work of any halakhic ruling. In this case, we must also consider the mother’s need to pray, learn, and connect in community, often met only by her time in a synagogue, and the value of regular synagogue attendance from the earliest age. As with all human activities in a synagogue, breastfeeding should be done quietly, modestly and discreetly. Based strictly on our read of halakhah, it is permissible to breastfeed in synagogue; based on our Jewish values, it is a positive value to make nursing mothers welcome in our services.

Many synagogue arks are emblazoned with the words Da lifnei Mi atah omed (Know before Whom you stand.) In Torah study and in prayer, we are in the presence of the One whose salvation is intimated through human nursing: “That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory” (Isaiah 66:11). Jewish institutions, in particular, have an obligation to welcome, facilitate, and support nursing mothers and their babies.