[Just Julie]

"the Talmud says that a mother is like a mountain stream, nourishing the trees on the mountain from their roots, but a woman who mothers another's child is like a cloud gathering moisture to travel a great distance to nourish a lone tree in the desert."

I love this quote posted in the thread "Nicest things people have said". Can anyone tell me the reference?

[Kellster]

Hi Julie,

I think that your quickest way to find out would be to call your local synagogue or "Yeshiva", if there is one near you, and ask the Rabbi. it is certainly a beautiful quote.

Kelly

[manon]

I'll 'fess up to being the one who posted that quote, and to the fact that I tried to search for a citation for it too to no avail so far. I'm not Jewish, and don't know if there are some good web sites to check for that kind of thing. I posted what had been told to me, and I don't know where she heard it or read it.

So I'd love to know too if it's really from the Talmud & if that's an accurate quote!

I get the impression that Jewish beliefs about adoption are kind of complicated - that some more Orthodox Jews believe you should only adopt a non-Jew to be sure you can truly convert the child instead of running the risk of getting a child whose matrilineal line includes some kind of Jew who messed up - how's that for a completely uneducated and oversimplified explanation - I probably have that all confused. Especially since I'm Episcopalian.

Best wishes to you.

[spaypets]

Actually Manon, you did a great job explaining that -- the idea is that you don't want to inadvertently bring a mamzer into the family. A mamzer is a child that is the result of incest or adultery, if I'm understanding that correctly. One of the 613 commandments is not to marry one. The Orthodox feel that that unless you know the history of the child's conception, it is better to adopt a non-Jew and convert him or her because that child, not being Jewish, could not be a mamzer.

[yael]

You are correct in the historical view of why many orthodox Jews prefer to adopt non-Jewish children and convert them. As an orthodox Jew who has adopted three children born to Jewish mothers, it is important to add that in today's open adoption environment it is much easier to obtain the information you need to prevent a violation of Jewish law.
--Yael

[spaypets]

I've been hunting for this quote and only found it on an agency page, but it didn't say where in the Talmud it was.

I did find this one from the Talmud:

"Whoever brings up an orphan in his home is regarded as though the child had been born to him." (Sanhedrin 19b)

[yael]

And here is another one:

Praiseworthy are the guardians of justice, who perform charity at all times. (Tehillim 106:3) Now, is it possible to perform charity at all times? R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani said: “This refers to one who raises an orphan boy and orphan girl in their house and marries them off.” (Kesubos 50A)

Yael