Author: weareuprooted

There is a range of ways that men encounter the struggle of a fertility journey. For some, male fertility struggles are experienced when one’s reproductive ability is challenged. For others, as in my case, I grappled with how to emotionally support my wife through the fertility process. As someone who always wanted to be a dad, it was also difficult to persevere during an indefinite and prolonged family-building journey. Though our individual circumstances may differ, when you are struggling to grow your family, Father’s Day can be painful and isolating.

Life is so fragile from beginning to end. We are all familiar with the fragility of end of life—even if we may not be fully comfortable facing the emotions that surround death and loss, we at least have terminology for this life phase and it is socially acceptable to discuss that seemingly insurmountable life challenge in public.

By Uprooted For many, the High Holiday season is highly stressful and deeply emotional. During my own fertility journey, this season brought up many feelings-pretty much everything from hope to despair. One moment in particular that always has an affect

By Uprooted At many points during my fertility journey I felt like everyone—and sometimes everything—around me was pregnant. I was the only exception. I went to synagogue, and all the women of child-bearing age seemed to be pregnant. I went

By Sharona Whisler The Torah and its stories are there for us to take lessons from and try to relate them to our lives. This isn’t so difficult for me when it comes to Vayeitzei (a section in Genesis). The Parsha

By Cantor Hollis Schachner Each year I sit on the bima on Rosh HaShanah as the Torah and Haftarah are read and I fixate on the painful dramas played out by Sarah, Hagar and Abraham, Chanah, Peninah, and Elkanah. Each

By Becca Shimshak I learned about Tu B’Av only a few years ago from my co-founder Dalia Davis. Tu B’Av comes a few days after the mournful holiday of Tisha B’Av to offset the sadness our community has endured. Tu B’Av

By Secondary Saga Mama In preparation for the month of Av: “The New Moon of (Menachem Av) will be on (Friday). May it come to us and to all Israel for good.” This seemingly benign announcement that in the upcoming

By Uprooted Team Why an Uprooted Blog? Uprooted seeks to create greater awareness about fertility challenges faced by many in the Jewish community. By sharing our stories, we give our community a window into our world and hope to guide