תלמוד בבלי יבמות סב:
רבי יהושע אומר נשא אדם אשה בילדותו ישא אשה בזקנותו היו לו בנים בילדותו יהיו לו בנים בזקנותו שנא' (קוהלת יא) בבקר זרע את זרעך ולערב אל תנח ידך כי אינך יודע אי זה יכשר הזה או זה ואם שניהם כאחד טובים
Rabbi Joshua says: If a man has married in his youth, let him also marry in his old age. If a man has had children in his youth, let him have children in his old age, as it says, "In the morning sew your seed and in the evening do not idle your hands. Since you don't know which will succeed, this or that, or if both are equally good.
[Translation by Rabbi Steven Greenberg]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Rabbi Joshua's first statement was understood in a context of loss. If a wife dies or he divorces he should remarry. This is similar to an earlier statement that a man should not live without a wife and and woman without a husband. Why do you think the tradition saw conjugal companionship as something to recommend at any age?
2. While the minimal duty was for two children, Rabbi Joshua encourages more since a man is like a farmer who plants many fields because he can't know which will thrive and survive and which not. Similarly, the future of children is always unknown. What does R. Joshua's addition to the mitzvah suggest about his understanding of the duty to reproduce?
Time Period: Rabbinic (Maccabees through the Talmud)