Judaism in Motion The Making of Same-Sex Parenthood in Israel

In Israel, where the Orthodox rabbinate wields historically sanctioned influence over the legal definitions of marriage and parenthood, same-sex parenthood raises important questions such as what constitutes belonging to the national collective, who has the authority to define the norms of reproduction, and where the boundaries of Orthodox Judaism begin and end. Judaism in Motion addresses these questions from a transgenerational perspective that pays heed to how religiously informed rules, norms, and practices of transferring material properties, names, and societal belonging are adopted and transformed. It presents a detailed ethnographic account of the dynamic interaction between kinship, religion, and the state that complicates the commonly held assumption that places same-sex parenthood in a radically secular sphere that stands in stark opposition to Orthodox Judaism. Taking same-sex parenthood as a prism through which society at large is reflected, this volume further explores how transformations of societal structures take place, and what flexibility and leeway exist in organized religions.

1.       Chapter 1: Orientations

1.1: A short introduction to homosexuality and reproduction in Judaism and beyond

1.2: From the making of same-sex parenthood to transgenerational continuity

1.3: Same-sex parenthood, the state, and the nation

1.4: Conflicting norms and moral logics in transformation

1.5: The entwined paths of ethnographic research

1.6: Outline of the book

2.       Chapter 2: Rachel’s cry and the paths to lesbian motherhood

2.1: Rabbinic approaches to Jewish continuity

2.2: Halakhic troubles with lesbian relationships and sperm donation

2.3: Parenthood as a matter of human dignity and as a universal right

2.4: Entering sperm banks and fertility clinics

2.5: Empowering experiences

2.6: Conclusion

3.       Chapter 3: DNA tests, mamzerut, and the bureaucracies of transnational surrogacy

3.1: Following gay couples to India

3.2: Surrogacy, the state, and bureaucracy

3.3: Encounters with mamzerut

3.4: The tedious journey of a DNA test

3.5: Assuming citizenship in moments of vulnerability

3.6: Conclusion

4.       Chapter 4: Struggles over recognition

4.2: The institution of common-knowledge couples and other circumventions

4.3: Accessing second-parent adoption and changing practices

4.4: Separation and stories of loss

4.5: Conclusion

5.       Chapter 5: Making Jewish children and questions of belonging

5.1: The religious status of children born to lesbian couples

5.2: The conversion of children who were born through surrogacy

5.3: Belonging marked in flesh

5.4: Marking belonging through transformed rituals

5.5: Conclusion

6.       Chapter 6: Transformations from within

6.1: The frictions and fractions of Orthodox Judaism

6.2: Steps towards inclusion

6.4: Silent transformations and frustration in daily life

6.5: Conclusion

7.       Chapter 7/ Conclusion: Same-sex parenthood and the making of Jewish continuity

7.2: Societal belonging and ambiguities in defining Jewishness

7.3: Ontological shifts, rifts and frictions, and the future of Orthodox Judaism

Sibylle Lustenberger is Researcher and Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.