Procreation

Question

Dear Rabbi,

I’m not sure I want to get married and have children. I’m not sure I see the point of it, especially considering the costs of population and so many challenges in the world. Perhaps if you would explain to me the significance of having children according to Judaism, I might follow my parents’’ footsteps and have children of my own!

Thanks

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Procreation is taught to be a great mitzvah in Jewish sources. When a person dies and ascends to Heaven, one of the first things he is asked about this mitzvah and his involvement. The Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt in the merit that they were fruitful and multiplied, and so too, the Final Redemption will only come when the Jewish people are fruitful and multiply.

    I will mention here the main reasons for having children according to Judaism.

    Perpetuation
    Since man does not live forever, his connection to God includes leaving behind another generation to continue that connection.

    An Inhabited World
    God commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply in order for the world to be inhabited. He did not create it to be empty and desolate. In addition, the proper function of humanity depends on the cooperation of societies and multiple people.

    To Bring Down Souls From Heaven
    Mashiach will not arrive until all the souls come down from Heaven because each soul accomplishes another part of mankind’s goal. It is therefore a very great mitzvah to bear a child, which possesses another soul sent from Heaven.

    Indication of Man’s Mortality
    God created Adam like Himself, single, and with no need to procreate. However, without Adam, together with Eve, having children, it would wrongly seem as if Adam was an eternal being who created every other being in existence. In other words, procreation indicates that man needs to bear offspring to replace him when he dies, and that he is not the immortal Creator of the universe.

    Divine Glory
    The world was created for God’s glory, and “a king’s glory is apparent through multitudes of subjects.” Therefore, the children a person bears helps fulfills the purpose of Creation.

    Emulating God
    Another reason for this mitzvah is that God wants man to come close to Him by emulating His ways, and especially His kindness and compassion. Just as He creates and raises all living beings, which involves countless acts of kindness, so too He enabled us and commanded us to bear and raise children of our own.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team