"BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY"
"Be fruitful and multiply" is among the striking statements of the Creation Story in Genesis. It is repeated for fish and fowl and then for everything upon the earth including human beings in a blessing which is a little more sweeping,"Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth." A similar statement was made to Noah after the flood’ and that was used by rabbinic Judaism as the basis for the commandment of procreation. The thesis of this paper is very simple: Reform Judaism and most modern Jews have rejected this commandment; it is time to change that and to see it in a different light.
The Genesis story called upon human beings to form a family: "Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh."> These statements along with verses from Isaiah and Ecclesiastes ’ formed the basis of the first of the six hundred and thirteen commandments for the thirteenth century Sefer Hahinukh of Aaron of Barcelona. It was given as a positive commandment by Maimonides and other later writers, though in a different sequence.’
It was important for them and must be again for us. We will look at the various questions which this commandment has traditionally raised and then turn to our modern concerns which include women's rights, personal autonomy, birth control, and demography.
THE THEOLOGICAL BASIS
The classical statement,"Be fruitful and multiply," from the beginning of the Book of Genesis , has been taken by Tradition as a Divine commandment which stipulates unrestricted human reproduction for Jews . There is some discussion in the Talmud about the nature of this obligation for males versus females, the minimum number of children required for the fulfillment of this obligation, particularly if there are health problems involved, and the general role which reproduction plays in marriage.