Birth in Jewish ritual and mystical traditions #1 Emunah : אֱמוּנָה

וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃

And one would call to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy!
YHVH of Hosts—
Whose presence fills all the earth!”

אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים קוֹלָן הוֹלֵךְ מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ, וְהַבְּרִיּוֹת בֵּינְתַיִם וְאֵינָם מַרְגִּישִׁים, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: הַיּוֹם, וְהַגְּשָׁמִים, וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִיא יוֹצֵאת מִן הַגּוּף. הַיּוֹם מִנַּיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, אַתְּ סָבוּר שֶׁהוּא שָׁף בָּרָקִיעַ, וְאֵינוֹ אֶלָּא כַּמַּסָּר הַזֶּה שֶׁהוּא נוֹסֵר בָּעֵץ. הַגְּשָׁמִים מִנַּיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי (תהלים מב, ח): תְּהוֹם אֶל תְּהוֹם קוֹרֵא לְקוֹל וגו'. וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִיא יוֹצֵאת מִן הַגּוּף מִנַיִּן, דְּרַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל אֲחוּי דְּרַבִּי פִּינְחָס בֶּן רַבִּי חָמָא, הֲוֵי דָּמִיךְ בְּצִפּוֹרִי, וְהַוְיָן חַבְרַיָּה יְתִיבִין גַּבֵּיהּ, אֲתַת מִלְּתָא וְשָׁרְיָן גָּחֲכִין, אֲמַר לְהוֹן כַּמָּה נַפְשֵׁיהּ דַּאֲחוּהָ דְּהַהוּא גַּבְרָא מְקַצְּצָא אֲרָזִין וּמְקַצְּצָא אִילָנוֹת, וְאַתּוּן יָתְבִין גָּחֲכוּן וְלָא יָדְעִין.

Bereshit Rabbah 6:7

Rabbi Levi said: There are three items whose sound travels from one end of the world to the other, and the creatures are in the middle but do not sense it. They are: The day, the rains, and the soul at the moment that it leaves the body. The day, from where is it known? Rabbi Yehuda said: You believe that it [the sun] moves smoothly in the firmament, but actually it is like a saw sawing wood. The rains, from where is it derived? Rabbi Levi said: “Depths call out to depths in the sound [of your waterways]” (Psalms 42:8). The soul at the moment that it leaves the body, from where is it derived? Because Rabbi Shmuel, brother of Rabbi Pinḥas ben Rabbi Ḥama, was dying in Tzippori, and his colleagues were sitting with him. A [humorous] matter came up and they began laughing. He said to them: How the soul of the brother of that man [the soul of my brother] is hewing cedars and hewing trees, and you are sitting and laughing and are oblivious to it.

פרקי דרבי אליעזר ל״ד:ד׳

חמשה קולן יוצא מסוף העולם ועד סופו ואין הקול נשמע. בשעה שכורתין את האילן שהוא עושה פרי הקול יוצא מסוף העולם ועד סופו ואין הקול נשמע, ובשעה שהנחש נפשט, ובשעה שהאשה מתגרשת מבעלה, (ובשעה שהאשה עם בעלה בעילה ראשונה, אבל אין קולה נשמע) ובשעה שהולד יוצא מן הגוף עד שתראה את השכינה.

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 34:4

The voices of five (objects of creation) go from one end of the world to the other, and their voices are inaudible. When people cut down the wood of the tree which yields fruit, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is inaudible. When the serpent sloughs off its skin, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other and its voice is not heard. When a woman is divorced from her husband, her voice goeth forth from one end of the world to the other, but the voice is inaudible. When the infant || comes forth from its mother's womb. When the soul departs from the body, the cry goes forth from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is not heard. The soul does not go out of the body until it beholds the Shekhinah, as it is said, "For man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20).

איוב י׳:ט׳-י״א

(ט) זְכׇר־נָ֭א כִּֽי־כַחֹ֣מֶר עֲשִׂיתָ֑נִי וְֽאֶל־עָפָ֥ר תְּשִׁיבֵֽנִי׃ (י) הֲלֹ֣א כֶ֭חָלָב תַּתִּיכֵ֑נִי וְ֝כַגְּבִנָּ֗ה תַּקְפִּיאֵֽנִי׃ (יא) ע֣וֹר וּ֭בָשָׂר תַּלְבִּישֵׁ֑נִי וּֽבַעֲצָמ֥וֹת וְ֝גִידִ֗ים תְּשֹׂכְכֵֽנִי׃

Job 10:9-11

(9) Recall, pray, that like clay You worked me, and to the dust You will make me return. (10) Why, You poured me out like milk and like cheese You curdled me. (11) With skin and flesh You clothed me, with bones and sinews entwined me.

[Trans. by Robert Alter]

נדה ל״א א:ט׳-י׳

תנו רבנן שלשה שותפין יש באדם הקב"ה ואביו ואמו אביו מזריע הלובן שממנו עצמות וגידים וצפרנים ומוח שבראשו ולובן שבעין אמו מזרעת אודם שממנו עור ובשר ושערות ושחור שבעין והקב"ה נותן בו רוח ונשמה וקלסתר פנים וראיית העין ושמיעת האוזן ודבור פה והלוך רגלים ובינה והשכל וכיון שהגיע זמנו להפטר מן העולם הקב"ה נוטל חלקו וחלק אביו ואמו מניח לפניהם

Niddah 31a:9-10

§ The Sages taught: There are three partners in the creation of a person: The Holy One, Blessed be He, and his father, and his mother. His father emits the white seed, from which the following body parts are formed: The bones, the sinews, the nails, the brain that is in its head, and the white of the eye. His mother emits red seed, from which are formed the skin, the flesh, the hair, and the black of the eye. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, inserts into him a spirit, a soul, his countenance [ukelaster], eyesight, hearing of the ear, the capability of speech of the mouth, the capability of walking with the legs, understanding, and wisdom. And when a person’s time to depart from the world arrives, the Holy One, Blessed be He, retrieves His part, and He leaves the part of the person’s father and mother before them.

ישעיהו ל״ג:ו׳

וְהָיָה֙ אֱמוּנַ֣ת עִתֶּ֔יךָ חֹ֥סֶן יְשׁוּעֹ֖ת חׇכְמַ֣ת וָדָ֑עַת יִרְאַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה הִ֥יא אוֹצָרֽוֹ׃ {פ}

Isaiah 33:6

Faithfulness to Your charge was [her] wealth,
Wisdom and devotion [her] triumph,
Reverence for GOD —that was her treasure.

שבת ל״א א:י׳

אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: מַאי דִכְתִיב ״וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ חוֹסֶן יְשׁוּעוֹת חׇכְמַת וָדָעַת וְגוֹ׳״. ״אֱמוּנַת״ — זֶה סֵדֶר זְרָעִים. ״עִתֶּיךָ״ — זֶה סֵדֶר מוֹעֵד. ״חוֹסֶן״ — זֶה סֵדֶר נָשִׁים. ״יְשׁוּעוֹת״ — זֶה סֵדֶר נְזִיקִין. ״חׇכְמַת״ — זֶה סֵדֶר קׇדָשִׁים. ״וָדָעַת״ — זֶה סֵדֶר טְהָרוֹת. וַאֲפִילּוּ הָכִי, ״יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ״.

Shabbat 31a:10

The Gemara continues discussing the conduct of the Sages, citing that Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And the faith of your times shall be a strength of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge, the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:6)? Faith; that is the order of Zera’im, Seeds, in the Mishna, because a person has faith in God and plants his seeds (Jerusalem Talmud). Your times; that is the order of Moed, Festival, which deals with the various occasions and Festivals that occur throughout the year. Strength; that is the order of Nashim, Women. Salvations; that is the order of Nezikin, Damages, as one who is being pursued is rescued from the hands of his pursuer. Wisdom; that is the order of Kodashim, Consecrated Items. And knowledge; that is the order of Teharot, Purity, which is particularly difficult to master. And even if a person studies and masters all of these, “the fear of the Lord is his treasure,” it is preeminent.

תוספות על שבת ל״א א:י׳:א׳

אמונת זה סדר זרעים - מפרש בירושלמי שמאמין בחי העולמים וזורע:

Tosafot on Shabbat 31a:10:1

"the farmer who sows seeds places his faith in the Life Giver of all worlds, for he trusts that God will provide all that is needed for his crops to grow"

[Trans. by R' David Jaffe]

בבא מציעא פ״ד א:ט׳

ר' יוחנן הוה אזיל ויתיב אשערי טבילה אמר כי סלקן בנות ישראל מטבילת מצוה לפגעו בי כי היכי דלהוו להו בני שפירי כוותי גמירי אורייתא כוותי

Bava Metzia 84a:9

The Gemara continues to discuss Rabbi Yoḥanan’s beauty. Rabbi Yoḥanan would go and sit by the entrance to the ritual bath. He said to himself: When Jewish women come up from their immersion for the sake of a mitzva, after their menstruation, they should encounter me first, so that they have beautiful children like me, and sons learned in Torah like me. This is based on the idea that the image upon which a woman meditates during intercourse affects the child she conceives.

בראשית מ״ט:כ״ה

מֵאֵ֨ל אָבִ֜יךָ וְיַעְזְרֶ֗ךָּ וְאֵ֤ת שַׁדַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם׃

Genesis 49:25

From the God of your fathers, may He aid you, Shaddai, may He bless you -
blessings of heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
blessings of the breasts and womb.

[Trans. by Robert Alter]