הסדרה בהלכה בראשית סדרה ב - פרייה ורבייה

MISHNA: A man is commanded with regard to the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply, but not a woman. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says that a woman is also commanded, as the verse states with regard to both of them: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). GEMARA: From where are these matters derived, that a woman is not obligated in the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply? Rabbi Ile’a said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon: The verse states: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the land and conquer it” (Genesis 1:28). It is the manner of a man to conquer and it is not the manner of a woman to conquer. Consequently, it is evident that the entire command, including the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply, was given only to men and not to women. The Gemara raises a difficulty. On the contrary, the plural term: “And conquer it [vekhivshuha],” indicates that the two of them are included. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: It is written in the Torah without the letter vav, so that it can be read: And conquer it [vekhivsha], in the singular. Rav Yosef said: The proof is from here: “And God said to him: I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply [perei urvei]” (Genesis 35:11), which is in singular, and it does not state: Be fruitful and multiply [peru urvu] in the plural.

HALAKHAH: “A man should not rest from being fruitful and multiply,” etc. The House of Shammai say two males, since “Gershom and Eliezer” are mentioned for Moses. The House of Hillel say a male and a female the way the world was created, as it is said “male and female He created them.” Rebbi Abun said, one has to understand “even a male and a female”. If it were not so, it should have been a Mishnah about the leniencies of the House of Shammai and the stringencies of the House of Hillel. Sons of sons are counted as sons, sons of daughters are not counted as sons. The son’s son and the daughter’s daughter count; the son’s daughter and the daughter’s son do not count. A she-ram, a castrate, and those who cannot have children are not counted. Rebbi Immi in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish. The reason of that Tanna: “At the end of ten years since Abram lived in the Land of Canaan.” Deduct the years outside the Land. We also have stated: [The time during which] she was sick or he was sick, or he went overseas, does not count. If she was married to the first [husband] and did not give birth, she receives ketubah; from the second she receives ketubah, from the third she receives ketubah, from the fourth and fifth she has no ketubah. Rebbi Ḥanina bar ‘Agil in the name of Rebbi Ḥizqiah: From the third himself she has no ketubah. If she was married to a fourth or fifth and did not give birth, may the earlier ones have regress on her? She can say, only now did this woman become sterile. If she was married to the fifth and gave birth, has she regress on the fourth? He says to her, your silence is better than your talk. If she had intercourse and saw blood repeatedly. Some Tannaïm state, a second time she may have intercourse, a third time she may not. But some Tannaïm state, a third time she may have intercourse, a fourth time she may not. They wanted to say that he who says, a second time she may have intercourse, a third time she may not, holds with him who says that a third time she has no ketubah. But he who says, a third time she may have intercourse, a fourth time she may not, holds with him who says that the third time she has ketubah. If one gave birth to male childen and they died when being circumcised. Some Tannaïm state, a second time one should circumcise, a third time one should not circumcise. Some Tannaïm state, a third time one should circumcise, a fourth time one should not circumcise. They wanted to say that he who says, a second time one should circumcise, a third time one should not circumcise, holds with him who says that a third time she has no ketubah He who says, a third time one should circumcise, a fourth time one should not circumcise, holds with him who says that the third time she has ketubah. Even he, who says that the third time she has ketubah agrees here that one should not circumcise because of the danger. It was stated: Rebbi Nathan said, it happened that I went to Kappadokian Caesarea, and there was a woman who gave birth to male children and they died when being circumcised. She circumcised the first [child] and he died, the second and he died, the third and he died. She brought the fourth one before me, I looked at him and saw that he did not have enough blood for circumcision. I told them, wait for later. They waited, circumsised him, he turned out to be living, and they called him Nathan after me. If she had children but they died, she counts from the time of death. She can say, a spirit strangled the children of this woman and made me sterile. Rebbi Eleazar in the name of Rebbi Yose ben Zimra: The reason of that Tanna: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and conquer it.” It is written “he shall conquer it.” Who usually conquers? The man, not the woman. Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Abbahu, Rebbi Isaac bar Marion, in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: Practice follows Rebbi Joḥanan ben Beroqa. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa and Rebbi Jacob bar Idi, Rebbi Isaac bar Ḥaqula in the name of Rebbi Jehudah Neśia: If she requests to be married, she has the law on her side. Rebbi Eleazar in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: Practice follows Rebbi Joḥanan ben Beroqa. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda said to him, I was with you and it was only said that if she requests to be married, she has the law on her side. In a similar case, referring to what we have stated there: “In the week in which the Ninth of Av falls, it is forbidden to get a haircut and to wash. But on Thursday one is permitted, in preparation for the Sabbath.” Rebbi Abba bar Zavda in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: Rebbi wanted to do away with the Ninth of Av but they did not let him. Rebbi Eleazar said to him, I was with you and it was only said that Rebbi wanted to do away with the Ninth of Av which happened to be on the Sabbath but they did not let him. He said, since it is pushed away, let it be pushed away. They said to him, it should be pushed to the next day. He recited on these: “Two are better than one.”

The mitzvah of being fruitful and multiplying is incumbent on the husband and not on his wife. When does a man become obligated to fulfill this mitzvah? From the time he reaches seventeen. If he reaches twenty and has not married, he is considered to have transgressed and negated the observance of this positive commandment. If, however, he is occupied with the study of Torah and absorbed in this endeavor and is hesitant of marrying, lest he be forced to work to support his wife and thus be prevented from studying Torah, he is permitted to delay marriage. For a person who is occupied in the performance of one mitzvah is freed from the obligation to perform another. Surely this applies with regard to the study of Torah.

Blessed be the name of the Holy One, blessed is He, who desired goodness for his creations. For He knew that it is not good for man to be alone and therefore He made a fitting helper for him, for the intent of the creation of man is to be fertile and to increase, and this is impossible without a helper. Therefore He commanded him to cling to the helper whom He made for him. Thus every man is obligated to marry a woman in order to be fertile and increase, for anyone who is not involved in reproduction is like one who sheds blood, as it is written, "Whoever sheds the blood of man," and juxtaposed to it , "Be fertile, then, and increase." And it is as though he is diminishing the [Divine] image, for it is written that in the image of God did He create him, and you shall be fertile and increase. And he causes the Divine Presence to be removed from Israel. And anyone who remains without a wife remains without goodness, without blessing, without a dwelling, without Torah, without a wall, without peace. Rabbi Elazar said, "Anyone who does not have a wife is not a man." When he marries, his sins become unreliable, as it is said, "He who finds a wife has found happiness And has won the favor of the LORD." It is an extremely great commandment, for we only sell a Torah scroll in order to be able to learn Torah and to marry a woman. A man is commanded to marry a woman when he is eighteen years old, as it is taught, "eighteen years for the [wedding] canopy," but one who does so earlier at the age of thirteen, this is a choice [fulfillment of the] command. Our Rabbis have taught, one who marries off his sons and daughters close to their period of puberty, regarding him Scripture states, "You will know that all is well in your tent, etc." Abaye said, I am better than my colleagues because I married at the age of sixteen, but had I married at fourteen, it would have been an arrow in the eyes of Satan. But one must not marry them before thirteen, for this is like lewdness. Under no circumstance should one pass twenty years without a wife, as Raba said, and the school of Rabbi Ishmael taught, until the age of twenty the Holy One, blessed is He, waits for a man to marry. When he passes twenty years without marrying, the Holy One, blessed is He, says, "His bones shall swell." My father wrote of a single man who has passed twenty years and does not want to marry, that the court forces him to marry so that he may fulfill the commandment of reproduction. However, one for whom it will be impossible to study should he marry is not obligated to marry by twenty. The words of the Rambam: If he is busy with Torah and is occupied by it, and is afraid to marry because the burden of providing sustenance will distract him from Torah, he may delay, as one who is involved in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah, and all the more so in the study of Torah. One whose soul has constantly desired Torah, such as Ben Azai, and he clung to it all his days and did not marry, he has not sinned as long as his desire does not overcome him. My father the Rosh says this refers to when it would be impossible for him to study [after marrying]--then he should study and afterward marry. I do not know the extent of this study, but it cannot be that one could abstain from reproduction all his days, for we have not seen such a thing other than Ben Azai, whose soul desired Torah. Therefore, because man consists of male and female, there is a commandment of reproduction. Should the son be a eunuch or the daughter an ailonyit [a woman with arrested sexual development who cannot have children], he has not fulfilled the command of reproduction. If he had sons and they died, he has not fulfilled the command of reproduction. However if they died and left behind children, since the son had a son or daughter or the daughter had a son or daughter, reproduction has been fulfilled. But if one of them died without children and the second has a son or daughter, he has not fulfilled it. If he had children while he was a Gentile and he and his children converted, then he has fulfilled [the mitzvah of] reproduction but a slave who had sons, and he and they were freed, has not fulfilled reproduction. And even one who has fulfilled his obligation of reproduction is forbidden from remaining without a wife, as Rabbi Nachman said: Even if a man has several children, he is forbidden from remaining without a wife, as it is said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Rabbi Yehoshua said: If he married in his youth, he shall marry in his old age. If he had children in his youth, he shall have children in his old age. As it is said, "Sow your seed in the morning, and don't hold back your hand in the evening." There is no difference between one who has children and one who does not except with regard to the matter of selling a Torah scroll for one must always marry a child-bearing woman if he is able to [afford it] even if he has many children and if it is not within his grasp [to afford] to marry a child-bearing woman without selling a Sefer Torah then if he does not have children he should sell a Sefer Torah so that he can marry a child-bearing woman but if he already has children then he should not sell a Sefer Torah but marry a non child-bearing woman rather than remain without a wife. Some say that even if he has children he should sell a Sefer Torah so that he can marry a child-bearing woman and that there is no difference between a child-bearing and n0n-child-bearing woman except for a case where he married her and stayed ten years without her giving birth , so that if he has stayed with her for ten years he's obligated to divorce her in order to fulfill procreation but if he has children then he's not obligated to divorce her for R. Yehoshua only said that ideally he should marry a child-bearing wife [also] in his older years but he's not obligated to divorce her if she's not child-bearing and this too is the opinion of my father my master the Rosh. A man can marry a number of wives for Rava said a man can marry many wives and this is as long as he is able to provide for them nevertheless our Sages gave good advice not to marry more than four wives so that each one can spend "time" [together with her husband] once / month. In a place where there is an edict not to marry more than one wife we follow that custom. A woman is not obligated in procreation therefore if she asks for a divorce on the grounds that she's unable to build a family with him, we don't listen to her as will be explained late on regarding those we force to divorce in the Laws of Divorce.