Hello, once again we are in Chapter Six of the book Brit Shalom, and we are dealing with family matters according to the Torah of Moses. First of all, the centrality of the commandment of procreation — to bring more souls into the world.
Here I bring a quotation: when the Holy One, blessed be He, created man, male and female, it is said, “And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.”
And similarly, after the Flood, He blessed Noah and his sons, as it is written: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
For it is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, that the human race should increase, for the settlement and cultivation of the world — as the prophet said: “He did not create it a waste; He formed it to be inhabited.”
Indeed, the sages of Israel disagreed on whether there is a formal obligation, an explicit command for the Children of Noah to bring children into the world. But it doesn’t really matter, because it is clear that the Creator’s intention is that humanity should multiply.
Therefore, in our prayers, we say of Noah that the Holy One, blessed be He, blessed him to make his seed as abundant as the sand of the sea and the dust of the earth.
The Sages said: “Whoever does not engage in procreation, who does not wish to bring children into the world, is as though he sheds blood, and diminishes the Divine image.” The “image” refers to the manifestation of the Divine presence in the world.
And they further said: “Whoever lives without a wife lives without joy, without blessing, without goodness, without peace, without Torah, and without protection — and he is not even called a human being, as it is written: ‘Male and female He created them, and He called their name Adam.’”
The name Adam refers not only to the man or only to the woman — both together are called Adam.
