Birthing in the Apple Orchard

2023

11.5" x 14.5"

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The Jewish slave women of Egypt were forbidden to have sexual relations with their husbands, but they fulfilled their sexual drive and marital and Judaic obligation to procreate in the fields. As is stated in Sotah , “They would give them to drink and bond with them in sexual intercourse between the sheepfolds.” The resulting pregnancies were also problematic as Jewish children were equally forbidden and were immediately slain by the Egyptians when discovered. 

 

The apple tree was brought to Egypt in 1300 BCE. Lush apple orchards proliferated all along the Nile Delta. There, Israelite slaves would give birth undisturbed by Egyptian soldiers, as their screams and grunts went unheard by their enslavers. 

 

The symbolic meaning of women receiving shelter and support from the strong, fruit bearing trees impacted me deeply. Apples have taste, smell and beauty as these women have soul, motivation and inner presence. There is a melding of the woman and the tree as she struggles with the beginnings of the birth. She uses the tree to help support and give her extra leverage to push out the child. As she lifts her child out, she leans fully into the bark, once more melding with the tree.  Finally, in gratitude for the support and shelter she received, she places the baby in the arms of the tree.