Rav Fisher's Segula for Breech Presentation
When a fetus is in an abnormal position in the mother's womb (transverse or breech), which is considered a pathology and may be dangerous for the baby, Jewish sages recommend several segulot: 1. The segula of Rav Chaim Kanievsky (may his merit protect us) – he advised checking all the books in the home to ensure that none of the holy books had been turned upside down, as well as the tefillin and mezuzot; 2. Read the Book of Esther aloud. The Book of Esther is usually read on Purim, to recall Haman's plan to annihilate the Jews (chas veshalom) and how the L-rd “venahafoch hu” (turned everything upside down) – overturning Haman's scheme so that Haman, rather than Mordechai, ended up on the gallows, while Mordechai became the king's adviser in place of Haman, lived in Haman's home, and so on. 3. The segula of the Steipler Gaon – the woman should walk on all fours four amot forward and backward around her home. This segula has been tried by many.4. Rabbanit Batsheva Kanievsky advised pregnant women whose babies were in breech presentation to perform hafrashat challah and, while kneading the dough, recite several Tehillim – then turn the dough upside down, asking the L-rd to turn the baby in the mother's womb into the correct position. Then place one's hands on the pregnant woman's abdomen and recall the pasuk from the Book of Esther (9:1): וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא – “ve-nahafoch hu” (and everything was overturned), when, in the days of Purim, at the most difficult time for the Jewish people, “everything was overturned” in an instant for the good of Am Yisrael.
5. The segula of Rav Yaakov Fisher A kabbalistic segula made widely known by Rav Israel Yaakov Fisher (Dayan Fisher), which was passed down through a chain of mekubalim – this is the segula we will examine in greater detail. Near Jerusalem, not far from Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, there is a spring called Ma'ayan Sataf. Husbands come here with their wives when their baby is in breech presentation. Rav Fisher recommended a particular segula for such parents, while warning that this segula would not work if the umbilical cord was wrapped around the fetus's neck (turning the baby in such a case would be dangerous). The segula consists of the husband taking water from the spring into his mouth (without using any external vessel) and pouring it into his wife's mouth – this action alone is sufficient to turn the baby. It was interesting to explore what Kabbalah implies about this act. A Kiss as a Yichud The Torah contains the following pasuk: “Vayishak Yaakov le-Rachel vayisa et kolo vayevk” – (and Yaakov kissed Rachel, raised his voice, and wept). Kabbalah explains that a kiss is an act through which yichud (union) takes place. The kiss of Yaakov and Rachel is an example of yichud, through which Ruach HaKodesh was revealed to Yaakov, and he wept over what he saw: the two Temples destroyed, Rachel buried apart from him… According to Kabbalah, every yichud brings souls down into this world. Each person has two mouths (a female and a male one), and during a kiss, an “ishuk” – the two become united as one, and a soul descends. Everything the Jewish people do below has an effect Above. When the water is taken into the mouth, followed by contact between the lips (a kiss) and its transfer from the man's mouth to the woman's, the same yichud takes place – but no new soul descends. Rather, the water (the substance in which the fetus is located) hints at this, and the act of transferring it helps turn the soul already present in the womb. Water from the Spring Water from a spring is water suitable for a mikveh. “On the second day of Creation [Monday], the L-rd said: ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear!’ And it was so; and He separated the waters beneath the firmament from the waters above the firmament.” The L-rd divided the waters, creating the upper waters [the atmosphere] and the lower waters [those filling the seas and oceans]. According to Kabbalah, the upper waters are masculine (giving), while the lower waters are feminine (receiving). The primary requirement of a kosher mikveh is that the immersion area contain both “upper” waters and “lower” waters – which is why a bathtub is not suitable for a mikveh (it contains only “lower” waters). Thus, when the husband transfers water from the spring into his wife's mouth, the “upper” and “lower” waters are literally united, while the act of transferring them helps turn the fetus, which is already in water (in the womb), as in a mikveh. P.S. Since the key concept in this segula is “yichud,” which means both “union” and “seclusion,” everything should be done modestly, away from the eyes of others; no one speaks during the segula itself. (This material was compiled by the website based on video lessons by Rav Lev Gdolevich and Rabbanit Iris Odani Elyashiv (New York), and information from the Hidabroot website.)