Bearing Children — The World’s Continued Existence
Very soon after G‑d created man, He commanded him to “be fruitful and multiply.” Thus the verse states at the beginning of Bereishis:1 “G‑d created them male and female.... He said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, populate the earth and conquer it.’”
Since the commandment to bear children is the very first commandment of the Torah,2 it is self-understood that this commandment is of primary importance, for all Torah matters, including Torah’s order and sequence, are extremely exact. The fact that this mitzvah is cited first indicates that it is supremely important.
Our Sages3 also refer to the commandment to “be fruitful and multiply” as a “great mitzvah,” which is to say that among the many mitzvos of the Torah, bearing children is deemed to be one of the most important.
The reason why this is so is simple. G‑d created the world to be inhabited and populated by mankind — “He did not create it in vain, but to be settled.”4 The continued existence of mankind is dependent on the continual birth of children. Were people not to marry, the world would be empty and desolate.
Therefore, immediately following Creation, G‑d commanded man to “be fruitful and multiply” — to bear sons and daughters — so that the world will be filled with men, women and children.
The same command was issued after the Flood.
The first command that G‑d gave Noach very soon after the Flood was:5 “Leave the ark, you and your wife.... And6 G‑d blessed Noach and his children, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’”
For after the devastation of mankind during the Flood, there was a particular need for Noach and his children to bear children and repopulate the earth.
The Sublime Aspect Of Bearing Children
The command “Leave the ark ... be fruitful and multiply,” informs us of the spiritual importance of having children in addition to the physical importance of populating the world.7
For at first glance, G‑d’s command to Noach to leave the ark is extremely perplexing.
The ark was extremely small, measuring a mere few hundred square feet. Noach, his wife, his children and their families, endured these cramped quarters for close to a year in the company of countless animals and assorted creatures. Any normal person would not have been able to leave the ark soon enough.
Was it then necessary for G‑d to command Noach to leave the ark? Moreover, Rashi comments8 that G‑d told Noach: “If they do not want to leave the ark of their own free will, force them to do so.” Evidently, there was something so special about being in the ark that were it not for G‑d’s command, all the ark’s inhabitants would have chosen to remain there indefinitely.9
What were the special qualities that the ark possessed?
Although the physical accommodations were far from the best, the ark was a place of peace and tranquility; food was always available and a feeling of holiness and spirituality pervaded the ark. Thus explain the Torah commentaries,10 explained more profoundly in Kabbalah and Chassidus, that the ark possessed such a tremendous degree of holiness that its sanctity was comparable to that which will exist in the times of Mashiach!
Even the animals benefited and profited from their lives in the ark.
The animals received their food in the ark without having to scrounge for it, and existed in a state of calm and peace to such an extent that even the wild animals and beasts of prey “caused absolutely no harm to one another.”11 This is similar to the era of Mashiach when “the wolf shall live with the sheep ... they will neither injure nor destroy....”12
In spite of all the above, G‑d nevertheless commanded Noach to “Leave the ark,” for by bearing children (which was prohibited in the ark), Noach and his children would attain even loftier levels than that which they attained while in the ark.
Bearing Children — A Transcendent Power
What is the unique spiritual level possessed by the mitzvah to “be fruitful and multiply”?
Everything that exists in this world is inherently finite and, as such, cannot create something totally new. It can only reveal that which previously existed in a concealed state. In other words, created beings can only “create” “something from something,” not “something from nothing.”
However, the power of bearing children — bringing new life into this world; a life that previously did not exist — consists of creating “something from nothing.”13
Creating something absolutely new is only within G‑d’s power, and man, left to his own devices, is incapable of performing such an act. Thus our Sages state:14 “Were all the world’s inhabitants to come together, they would be incapable of creating even the wings of a gnat and infusing it with a soul.”
Chassidus explains that the power to create something entirely new is an infinite quality, a quality that transcends nature. Only He who possesses absolutely no limitations possesses the capacity to create a being that previously did not exist, to truly create “something from nothing.” In chassidic terminology, creation requires “a supernal power, the power of the Blessed Ein Sof, who infinitely transcends nature.”15
We understand accordingly that the spiritual quality that Noach and his family merited by bearing children after leaving the ark is loftier than all the levels they had attained in the ark, as this mitzvah is infinitely lofty and extremely close to G‑d’s Infinite Being.
Even Physicians Fail to Comprehend The Mysteries of Gestation
In light of what has been stated above regarding the tremendous degree of Divine power that G‑d vested in the capacity to bear children, we will understand something remarkable with regard to gestation:
“Pregnancy and childbirth contain astounding aspects that so wholly transcend nature that even the most accomplished physicians are at a loss to explain its workings. We observe that many completely healthy individuals, both men and women, who by all rights should be capable of producing children, are incapable of doing so.”16
The reason is that doctors can only explain those matters that are connected to nature. The infinite power that transcends nature and which is responsible for the ability to bear children is incapable of being clearly understood.
Three Partners in a Person’s Creation
The Gemara states:17 “There are three partners in a person’s creation: his father, his mother and G‑d. In other words, when it comes to bearing children, G‑d is a partner in the child’s creation.
What is the novelty of this statement? After all, isn’t G‑d a partner in all of man’s endeavors? Indeed, without G‑d’s assistance, man can not accomplish anything at all. Yet this expression is only used regarding the creation of a child.
The Gemara is telling us that when it comes to creating children, not only is G‑d a “partner” in the sense that He is an Enabler and Empowerer, but that He is at least trulyan equal partner, as a child is formed by the three partners: father, mother and G‑d.
Moreover, G‑d’s share in the partnership is most crucial of all, as it is specifically He Who makes conception possible, and that a child, a creation of “something from nothing,” should become a reality.
G‑d’s “partnership” with man in all other aspects of this world involves His working within the laws of nature. For a child to be born, however, the transcendent aspect of G‑d’s infinite power that wholly transcends nature is necessary.
In bearing children, parents become partners with an aspect of the infinite power of the Blessed Ein Sof; G‑d as He is infinitely beyond nature.
Transcending Nature Via the Power of the Soul; Marriage of Husband and Wife
What exactly does the act of marriage have that enables it to serve as the proper vehicle by which to merit G‑d’s infinite power of creation, i.e., to enable the couple to conceive and give birth to children?
The explanation is as follows: Each and every Jew possesses a Divine soul, a “part of G‑d Above.”18 In the merit of his soul, the Jew merits to possess an aspect of the Infinite, the power of the Blessed Ein Sof that enables him to bear children.
Before marriage, however, the Jew’s soul is incomplete. For as explained earlier, an unmarried individual is but “half a person,” as the other half of his soul which makes him complete is found in his future spouse. Only after marriage, when the two halves of the soul unite and become one, does the couple enter into a full partnership with G‑d. Through this, they merit to receive the blessing of His infinite power which enables them to bring new life into the world.19
Procreation of Other Living Beings
However, this gives rise to an obvious conflicting question.
If the ability to conceive and give birth to new life emanates solely from one’s possession of a unique Divine soul, what about all other created beings? How are they able to bear offspring when they lack this uniquely Divine Jewish soul. How can they possibly create new life?
A Superabundance of Light Illuminates All
Whenever there is a copious and superabundant degree of Divine illumination, its effect is felt by all.
Thus, regarding the immense degree of Divine illumination that will shine forth in the Time to Come, the Alter Rebbe states in Tanya:20 “Through the superabundance of light that will shine upon the Jewish people, the darkness of the nations will also be lit up, as it is written, ‘And nations will walk by your (i.e., the Jewish people’s) light,’ and it is also written [that the nations will say to the Jewish people,] ‘House of Yaakov, go and we will walk along by the light of G‑d.’”
The same is true regarding the revelation of the infinite power of the Blessed Ein Sof that makes it possible to create something entirely new, i.e., bearing children.21
Although it initially results from the fact that a Jew possesses a Divine soul, the superabundant degree of illumination that the Divine soul draws down into the world affects not only itself, but makes possible the power of procreation and the creation of “something from nothing” to occur within all of G‑d’s creatures.
