חדש באתר: NotebookLM עם כל תכני הרב מיכאל אברהם

Q&A: The Moral Problematic of Having Children

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Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

The Moral Problematic of Having Children

Question

With God’s help,
Hello Rabbi, I wanted to ask what your thoughts are on bringing children into the world.
After all, it is a given that a person who is born will experience suffering, whereas for a person who is not born it is hard to say that any pleasure is being withheld from him—after all, he is not alive.
Therefore, logically speaking, it is preferable for a person not to be born, and being born is in fact more of a harm than a “gift.”
Especially considering the enormous potential harm that can be caused to a person, given the severe physical and mental illnesses that exist in our world.
And this is also the conclusion reached by Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, who added nevertheless that it is preferable for him to come to terms with the situation and accept it.
So I wanted to ask: how can bringing children into the world be morally justified—if at all?

Answer

See a related discussion in my article here:

הכרת טובה: בין מוסר לאונטולוגיה

Discussion on Answer

Anonymous (2021-04-13)

You can fulfill the commandment of “be fruitful and multiply” while using birth control pills, no?
Sorry for bringing up an old question; I just thought it would be unnecessary to open a new thread if there is already one.

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