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Misplaced mercy and the stifling of blessings By Rabbi Avraham Pam
Some profound — but practical — words for would-be parents from one of this generation's greatest Torah luminaries
— Exodus 2:1
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From the Talmud (Sotah 12a) it is clear that as the leader
of his generation, Moses' father, Amram, had vast influence
over the Jewish people. When Pharaoh decreed that
"every son that will be born — into the river shall you throw him"
(1:22), Amram became greatly discouraged. He cried out, ''Our toil
is in vain! What use is there to bring children into the world who will
then be ruthlessly drowned in the river?''. He then divorced his wife,
Yocheved.
When word of this spread, the other Jewish men did the
same. Amram's daughter, Miriam, saw this and said, ''Father, your
'decree' is harsher than Pharaoh's. For Pharaoh has only decreed
against the newborn males, but your 'decree' will mean that no
Jewish males or females will be born. Furthermore, Pharaoh has
decreed against life in this world, while your decree will affect life in
this world as well as in the World to Come."
(Once a child is conceived, it is entitled to a share in the World to Come. This serves as great consolation to those who have suffered miscarriages or stillbirths. They can be heartened by the realization that the sin-free souls they have brought down from Above will enjoy life in the World to Come. See Rashi to Sanhedrin 110b and Igros Moses [Yoreh Deah 3:138]).
Miriam then added to her argument: "There is no guarantee that the wicked Pharaoh's decree will be observed, but you are a tzaddik [righteous man] and your decree will be observed.''
Amram accepted Miriam's argument and publicly remarried Yocheved.
This served as an encouragement to the other separated
couples to remarry, and they proceeded to do the same.
Amram felt the pain and tzaros (anguish) of his people. He came to the
logical conclusion that it was purposeless to bring children into a
world where they would be drowned shortly after birth. And, even if
they somehow survived that ordeal, they would eventually be ruthlessly
enslaved to Pharaoh and forced to do backbreaking, torturous
labor all their lives. Amram's overwhelming feelings of compassion
for his people told him that now was not the time to bring
children into the world. Yet his mercy was misplaced — because by
remarrying Yocheved, he had a son, the future Moses,
who would lead the Jewish nation out of Egypt. Had Amram not
heeded his daughter's advice, his act of ''kindness'' would have
been an act of cruelty of monumental proportions.
A similar act of misplaced mercy is found in the Prophets (II Kings
20:1, Isaiah 38:1): In those days, Hezekiah became
deathly ill, and Isaiah
the son of Amos the Prophet came to
him and said, ''Thus says the Divine: 'Instruct your household, for
you shall die and you shall not live.' '' The Talmud (Berachos
10a) comments on this: ''You shall die'' — this refers to Hezekiah's
impending death in this world, ''and you shall not live'' — he
would be denied life in the World to Come. When Hezekiah heard
this death sentence from the prophet Isaiah, he asked, ''What is
the reason for all this? (What sin did I commit to deserve so severe
a punishment?)'' Isaiah responded, ''It is because you did not
get married and engage in procreation.'' Hezekiah told him, ''I did
not marry because I saw with ruach hakodesh [holy spirit] that if I did I would
have wicked children ...''
''Why do you concern yourself with the hidden secrets of the Divine?''
replied Isaiah. ''What you are commanded to do, you
must do, and what is found to be good before the Divine, He will do!''
Hezekiah asked Isaiah for his daughter for a wife. They had
a son, Menasheh, who succeeded him as king. Menasheh had the
longest rule of any Jewish king, 55 years, but was a terribly evil and instituted a reign of terror in Jerusalem, filling its streets with
the blood of innocent victims.
In fact, the Talmud (Yevamos 49b)
says that Menasheh pursued and killed his own grandfather, Isaiah
the Prophet. Hezekiah had correctly seen that he would have a
wicked son. But he did not know that Menasheh would have a
grandson, Josiah, who would epitomize the pentitent, as
the Prophet says (II Kings 23:25, read as the haftarah of the
second day of Passover): Before him, there had never been a king
like him who returned to G-d with all his heart, with all his
soul and with all his wealth, in accordance with the entire Torah of
Moses, and after him no one arose like him.
Josiah uprooted the idols of his wicked grandfather and
father and brought the people back to the service of the Divine. When
he died in battle against Egypt, the Prophet Jeremiah mourned him
with the words of Lamentations (4:20): '' the breath of
our nostrils, the anointed of G-d'' (see Talmud, Taanis 22b). Josiah's
tragic death was described as a disaster akin to the sun setting
at midday (Amos 8:9, see Talmud, Mo'ed Katan 25b).
Had his great-grandfather Hezekiah refrained from marrying,
the Jewish people would have lost this great person whose mark
was felt on the nation for generations to come.
THERE'S ONLY ONE KNOW-IT-ALL
In the first half of the 19th century, the Malthusian Theory
espoused the dire prediction that the growing population of the
world, coupled with the decrease in farmland available to produce crops, would lead to a great shortage of food and eventually to
mass starvation. Since the earth is limited in its arable land, the
theory held that the only way to deal with this growing danger was
to encourage worldwide population control. This would ensure a
sufficient food supply for all the world's inhabitants.
History has
shown how utterly wrong the Malthusian Theory has proven to be.
While about half of the population of the United States lived on
food-producing farms at the turn of the 20th century, less than one-fifth
that number still lives on farms a century later. Thus, less than
10 percent of America's population is producing enough food for
the needs of the entire country, and the mass surpluses continue to
make it possible to export food to many hundreds of millions of
people worldwide.
Yet scientists and writers continue to warn of the dangers of
population explosion and advise that the ideal family have no more
than two children, which would keep the population stable and
ensure that nobody starves. As ludicrous as this fear is, it has been
adopted as fact by countless people worldwide. What they fail to
recognize is that Hashem, the One Who nourishes, sustains and
supports [all creations] from the horns of the re'eimim to the eggs of
lice (i.e., from the greatest and largest creatures to the smallest
ones) will certainly take care of every human being to provide him
with his needs (see Talmud, Shabbos 107b).
As we have seen in our times, this can be manifested in many
ways. It can be achieved with great advancements in science and
technology which make it possible to produce vast quantities of
food on small tracts of land. Additionally, technology has spawned
the development of foods that can meet the nutritional requirements
of people without the need for farmland altogether. Foods
that are highly concentrated in both caloric and vitamin intake have
been developed that can be mass produced cheaply enough to feed
many times over the entire world's population. It is not necessary to
concern ourselves with the age-old question of Mah nochal, "What
will we eat?" (Leviticus 25:20).
Jewish families have also been affected by this ruach shtus, spirit
of foolishness, of population control. The advertising blitz hits them in a more subtle manner, leading them to claim several fallacies:
The ideal family consists of two children because the larger the
family is, the harder it is to raise each child properly. Additionally,
there are livelihood difficulties with a large family, and the constant
burden of pregnancy, birth and childrearing takes its toll on the
health of the mother.
As Torah Jews we know that these beliefs are not true. A large
family is a great blessing, not a liability. If anything, it is easier to
raise children in a large family because the older ones assist in the
task and thereby develop parenting skills themselves. As for the
additional financial burden of a large family, the Talmud (Niddah
31b) states that G-d sends every child into this world with a
source of livelihood (see Maharsha). Moreover, one really never
knows which of his children will provide the most nachas (famial pride and joy). It often
occurs that the little ben zekunim'l (youngest child born to older
parents) whom nobody expected (or wanted) can be the one who
achieves the greatest accomplishments.
Every child carries a unique blessing for his family and for Klal
Yisrael. It is the supreme task of life to realize and develop that
blessing.
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Comment by clicking here. Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam (1913 - August 16, 2001) was the dean of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York and a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel. Recently, some of his public addresses have been rendered into English by a disciple, Rabbi Sholom Smith. One collection is "Rav Pam on Chumash (Bible)", from which this essay was excerpted.
© 2007, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
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