Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah prepare us for a decisive spiritual victory in the battle for life and truth. We now possess the motivation to succeed day in and day out.

The Harvest Festival of Sukkot reminds us that God gives us life, sustenance and prosperity as long as we remain close to Him and serve Him with love and faithfulness.

Miraculous conceptions and births play a central role in our Rosh Hashanah readings. Like every baby created and born today, each one has a unique and vital role in the ongoing story of human existence.

Shavuot teaches us that killing human beings kills God Himself because human life is made in His image. One must destroy the very idea of God in order to justify killing innocent humans in the womb.

Parshas Beshalach inspired great rabbis to know and declare that babies in the womb sing, that they are human, alive, sentient, and aware.

Parsha Ve'eira teaches us that denying the miracle of life and the power of God results in illness and misery. Believing in false gods or the power of self leads to loss of control and terror.

In Parshas Miketz, Jacob has wisdom and faith in God’s plan for his granddaughter. He prayerfully turns away from the prejudice of his time to save a Jewish life with a divine destiny.

The ultimate place of Divine indwelling is the human being, a repository built upon the Intelligent Design of the human person, co-created with a mother and a father here on earth. To house the Divine will and carry it out is the reason we are given life, so we must protect and support human life from the moment of conception to natural death.

Looking deeper into this account, we recognize that the ultimate dwelling place of God is within each and every one of us.

There is conclusive evidence that both Torah and Rabbinic halacha regarding the pre-birth child as fully human and subject to the same protections and respect as all other people.”