From Passover to Shavuot: Cultivating togetherness with PJ Library
By Lucy Marshall • Community Services Director
The first cohort of PJ Library’s new Jewish Pregnancy and Postpartum Support Circle closed our final session just before Passover. This timing felt significant. The Passover story’s image of Israelites leaving Mitzrayim (Egypt, or “the narrow place”) through the split waters into a new life of freedom has often been likened to a metaphor for birth.
Like a parent and their newborn in the “fourth trimester,” or first 40 days postpartum, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, figuring out their new realities and how to survive together. A major difference, though, between the wandering Israelites and a bewildered new parent is that the Israelites had community; they had each other. All too often, parents experience isolation during this major transition in their lives. I certainly know I did as a first-time parent two years ago. I was hungry for community, for support, for a sense of that “village” we hear so much about but don’t always have access to.
Now pregnant with my second child and in my relatively new role as Community Services Director at JFCS, I understand the importance of creating a community of belonging and support. In designing and facilitating the Jewish Pregnancy and Postpartum Support Circle with PJ Library, I felt inspired by Jewish rituals, stories, songs, art, and traditions around pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and newborn care.
Ten other pregnant or recently postpartum folks gathered weekly at JFCS in March to learn about this Jewish wisdom, share our dreams and worries, explore our creativity, and build new supportive and lasting relationships. “I enjoyed the ritual and consistency of the group the most,” one participant reflected. “It made me feel safe and connected knowing once a week I would see a few people who I could relate to.”
Another shared, “I learned numerous new things each week, whether about Jewish traditions, community resources, or myself! I was hesitant to join without knowing anyone, but I am so glad I did.”
PJ Library of Minneapolis will gather with all families who welcomed a Jewish baby in the last year for our annual Shalom Baby Shower on Sunday, June 1. The Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins that evening. This timing, too, feels significant. Shavuot celebrates the moment when the Jewish people came together at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Some interpretations teach that Jews of all ages, across all time, were present at Mount Sinai. This was a moment of profound togetherness. The Israelites were wandering and confused in the wilderness, but then, together at Mount Sinai, they gained shared values and visions as a true community.
For young families raising Jewish children in the Minneapolis area, the Shalom Baby Shower is a moment of profound togetherness. Not only do we celebrate adorable new additions, but we also welcome parents, siblings, and grandparents into the warm community of PJ Library, which hosts meaningful programs and opportunities for connection year-round.
We are not meant to wander into the wilderness of parenting alone. I’m thrilled that JFCS offers what I needed most as a young parent – a sense of belonging, support, and Jewish community. Now, as I receive cute photos of newly born babies from the Jewish Pregnancy and Postpartum Support Circle participants, I am comforted that my family will grow alongside others.
If you or someone you know in the Minneapolis Jewish community had a baby after March 1, 2024, please join us at the Shalom Baby Shower on June 1. We can’t wait to celebrate – together.