[Avodah] bat mitzva "bo bayom"

[Zev Sero]

Micha Berger wrote:

> It's like women are in the normal course of things put in danger, and
> therefore "close" to the mal'akh hamaves who then prosecutes them for
> their actions.

Yes, childbirth was considered inherently dangerous, not because of
anything to do with the actual process of birth but simply as a fact of
nature, "min shmaya ka-radfu lah".  That's why once the baby has crowned
he's no longer considered a rodef, and he can't be killed to save the
mother's life; it's not the baby who's endangering her, it's the fact that
she's at this mysterious dangerous time, being judged by BDShM.  ISTM that
the reason this view developed was that childbed fever was such a terrible
killer, and its cause was completely unknown; women were dying for no
discernable reason, clearly unrelated to the actual trauma of childbirth,
so people concluded that this was simply an unalterable law of nature,
that when a new life comes into the world it's a time of din, and there's
a high risk that a life will be taken out as well.  It's very difficult
for us to relate to this, now that childbed fever is rarer than bubonic
plague.

The above is of course speculation, but it seems to me to make sense.
But if I can indulge in a wild speculation, perhaps this could explain
why as recently as the early 19th century the poskim seem unanimous that
a woman *must* bench gomel after birth, and yet I think I've only ever
seen this done once.  Perhaps the practise was indeed common, but fell
out of favour after childbed fever was conquered and people started to
think of childbirth differently.  Once it was thought of as no more
dangerous than we think today of overseas travel, women stopped saying
gomel for the same reasons that they don't seem to say it after overseas
travel (whatever those reasons in fact are).

-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas