Why Must Childbirth Be So Painful When It Is a Necessary Thing?
Childbirth is inherently a painful process. Nature made it so, as it is written, “In pain you will give birth.” This pain, however, is not limited to the physical act of bringing a child into the world — it also represents the inner transformative process of a human being giving birth to their spiritual self, i.e., their new self that is free from self-interest and which desires to completely love and to bestow similar to nature’s own force of love and bestowal.
Spiritual birth is an especially intensive process that we can undergo later in life. It requires us to confront our natural desires to enjoy for self-benefit alone, which instinctively dwell within us at every moment, and willingly change their direction to benefit others and nature.
Historically, childbirth was simpler in some ways. Women were more connected to nature, and their tolerance for pain was higher due to the absence of modern painkillers and a different cultural attitude toward suffering. Today, our separation from nature has increased both the perception and intensity of pain during childbirth.
When it comes to spiritual birth, the process is equally, if not more, demanding. It involves a person consciously deciding to undergo this transformation and reaching a request to align with the altruistic and integral laws of nature to facilitate it. In other words, it requires us to reach a prayer to the Creator, the upper force of love and bestowal, which created and sustains all life. The wisdom of Kabbalah describes the Creator as being synonymous with nature, and that these two terms can be described interchangeably. If we wish to undergo spiritual transformation, we thus need to endure a process that counters our natural inclinations. Suffering, in this context, stems from the tension between where we are and where we need to head — a journey through a narrow opening into a new spiritual state. In that new spiritual state, we will discover a life of bliss, harmony, peace, and joy the likes of which we cannot even imagine in our current lives.