Focusing on an audience that is often neglected in Jewish communities, Recustom today launched a new initiative timed with the High Holidays to support and resource anyone seeking to start or grow families who is experiencing fertility challenges. Formerly known as Haggadot.com, Recustom helps people create personalized, customizable and meaningful Jewish ritual experiences throughout the year.
“People experience different emotions during the High Holidays,” says Eileen Levinson, founder and executive director of Recustom. “For those experiencing fertility challenges, the High Holidays can be especially difficult. It’s a time to think about your hopes and disappointments from the prior year, often in an environment filled with families and children. It’s easy to feel alone with these emotions.”
Recustom’s High Holiday resources include a yizkor, memorial prayer, for a miscarriage and a booklet, “Exploring Tashlich during a Fertility Journey,” that helps people heal and reflect as they engage in the Rosh Hashanah ritual of Tashlich in which they metaphorically “release moments” where they may have missed the mark. Another new booklet, Rosh Hashanah Ritual for a Fertility Journey, includes a guide to simanim, the symbolic foods for expressing hope. Both booklets were produced in collaboration with Uprooted.
To create a virtual community space, Rebecca Missel, director of partnerships and content at Recustom, and Aimee Baron, MD, FAAP, founder and executive director of I Was Supposed To Have a Baby, will discuss on Instagram Live how to navigate the High Holidays and family gatherings when going through fertility challenges or coping with the loss of a pregnancy or baby. The event is scheduled for Sept. 12, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.
“For far too long, people who experience fertility challenges have felt isolated and in need of support from their community and from Jewish tradition,” adds Missel. “There has been such a taboo in the Jewish community. But tens of thousands of people experience this pain. And they don’t have to go through it alone anymore. This isn’t a matter of merely changing the conversation; the conversation needs to be brought into the public—and we’re doing that now.”
