Q&A: He Has Children and Converted
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
He Has Children and Converted
Question
A gentile who already has children and then converts afterward—has he fulfilled the commandment of procreation, or does he need to fulfill it again?
After all, when his children were born he was not yet someone obligated in the commandment, but even so, now in reality he already has children in the world.
Answer
This is a dispute between Rabbi Yohanan and Resh Lakish in Yevamot 62a.
Discussion on Answer
There’s room to connect them, but not for both sides. Even if it’s a result-oriented commandment, it is still possible that children he had while a gentile—who are not halakhically attributed to him—would not exempt him from the obligation of the commandment.
And it’s hard not to mention the discussion in “On the Path of the Commandments” on the Torah portion of Bereshit about procreation as a commandment of action or of result, which overlaps somewhat with EA’s question (whether one is someone capable of fulfilling the commandment or not).