(JTA) — “Matriarchs,” a short documentary from Kveller, tells the story of four mothers who bear the namesake of the four biblical matriarchs: Sarah, Rebeccah, Leah and Rachel.
For both the biblical characters and the four mothers in the film, pregnancy and motherhood wasn’t easy or straightforward. In the bible, Sarah, Rebeccah and Rachel struggle with years of infertility, while Leah, who has an easy time bearing children, has to face the rejection of her husband, Jacob, who loves another — her sister Rachel. Essentially, she has to raise her children alone.
All four of the Jewish mothers in Kveller’s “Matriarchs” are raising their children without a partner. But unlike Leah, they are single mothers by choice. In their own words, in their own homes, and surrounded by their smiling, playing children, you can watch them recount their journeys towards motherhood.
They divulge the complexities of choosing a sperm donor and dealing with Jewish genetic diseases. Two of the mothers struggled with long and arduous fertility treatments.
But for all, motherhood was a dream come true.
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