this has been achieved, the considerations have become somewhat different. A high birthrate was originally necessary for human survival and the execution of its mandate; that is no longer so. We have increased and multiplied to such an extent that our survival as a species is assured, then we can say to ourselves that we must now understand the whole Creation story and its intent, not only the initial segment. In our age we are finally ready for the second step. We will dominate for the benefit of the entire world. These are the broad theological considerations under which we must operate.
Our tradition, of course, felt that all of the six hundred and thirteen commandments including the one,"Be fruitful and multiply," applied to Jews alone. This obligation along with others could be followed by other people, but was not mandatory for them, and this commandment was not included in the basic commandments to all the children of Noah which sought to establish a decent social order. We should, however, note that as the Hebrew Bible has been accepted by Christianity and in a somewhat different form by Islam , so the commandment,"Be fruitful and multiply," has become a part of the broader religious context of the world in which we have lived. We would, therefore, see our interpretation of the entire Creation story as appropriate not only to Jews but to the broader Christian and Islamic world as well. We do, however, have some special Jewish considerations which we need to apply to birth control and reproductive rights. For us, and perhaps for other minority groups within the world, natural calamities have been augmented through the centuries by human oppression. Our numbers, which would normally have increased along with other people around us, have been diminished through continual persecutions. We, therefore, see our own position in the overextended human population.
The balance suggested by the Creation story applies not only to the broader natural world but to each segment of humanity as well. We have been unable to maintain it for us as Jews . We must therefore increase our numbers and limit birth control and, within our own circles, correct this imbalance which will be almost negligible in the population of all humanity. This step is appropriate from a theological point of view and pragmatically as well. Discussions in the traditional literature, from the prophetic books onward,
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