A Mother to Many: Creating a Meaningful Childless Jewish Life
Sale price
$14.99
Regular price $17.99
Skip to product information
A Mother to Many: Creating a Meaningful Childless Jewish Life
Sale price
$14.99
Regular price $17.99
A Mother to Many seeks to uncover and amplify the voices of childless Jewish women and men who, rather than succumbing to the sense of loss and exclusion, have turned what could have been a doubt-filled or devastating situation into an opportunity for creative and spiritual growth.
A Mother to Many explores the heartache, acceptance, and lessons learned from the author’s journey as a childless married clergywoman in a Jewish world that values fertility and motherhood as sacred obligations. Part textual learning, part lessons of an impassioned teacher, the book shows how naming the experience “childfree,” instead of “childless,” helps to recast the experience and open new avenues of “mothering” and “parenting” that can fill the spirit and bring blessings to the individual and the community alike. For readers with similar experiences, the book offers solace, wisdom, and gentle guidance. For the Jewish community and beyond, it offers ways to welcome those who are unintentionally without children.
Rabbi Meeka Simerly serves as the Rabbi of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Born in Haifa, Israel, she grew up in a secular Zionist home and later moved to California in 1995 to study music. There, she rediscovered her Jewish identity and fell deeply in love with Reform Judaism—a journey that ultimately shaped her spiritual, academic, and professional life.
Her scholarly work includes the thesis “Naomi Shemer’s Artistic Expression: Poetry, Prayer, or Both?” published in Emotions in Jewish Music, as well as her book, Voices in the Wilderness: Emerging Roles of Israeli Clergy Women (Gaon Books, 2015).
When she’s not teaching, writing, or leading her community, Rabbi Meeka can often be found outdoors or spending time with her beloved husband, Dave Simerly, and their dogs. She enjoys reading real paper books, tackling crossword puzzles (including Hebrew cryptics), taking horseback riding lessons, hiking, crafting with clam shells, and incorporating Jewish symbols and colors into her art. She’s also a fan of good beer, creative projects, and Pilates.
A Mother to Many explores the heartache, acceptance, and lessons learned from the author’s journey as a childless married clergywoman in a Jewish world that values fertility and motherhood as sacred obligations. Part textual learning, part lessons of an impassioned teacher, the book shows how naming the experience “childfree,” instead of “childless,” helps to recast the experience and open new avenues of “mothering” and “parenting” that can fill the spirit and bring blessings to the individual and the community alike. For readers with similar experiences, the book offers solace, wisdom, and gentle guidance. For the Jewish community and beyond, it offers ways to welcome those who are unintentionally without children.
Rabbi Meeka Simerly serves as the Rabbi of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Born in Haifa, Israel, she grew up in a secular Zionist home and later moved to California in 1995 to study music. There, she rediscovered her Jewish identity and fell deeply in love with Reform Judaism—a journey that ultimately shaped her spiritual, academic, and professional life.
Her scholarly work includes the thesis “Naomi Shemer’s Artistic Expression: Poetry, Prayer, or Both?” published in Emotions in Jewish Music, as well as her book, Voices in the Wilderness: Emerging Roles of Israeli Clergy Women (Gaon Books, 2015).
When she’s not teaching, writing, or leading her community, Rabbi Meeka can often be found outdoors or spending time with her beloved husband, Dave Simerly, and their dogs. She enjoys reading real paper books, tackling crossword puzzles (including Hebrew cryptics), taking horseback riding lessons, hiking, crafting with clam shells, and incorporating Jewish symbols and colors into her art. She’s also a fan of good beer, creative projects, and Pilates.