And G-d blessed them, and G-d said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it... (Genesis 1:28)

And G-d blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1)

And you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply on it. (Genesis 9:7)

Take wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that you may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jeremiah 29:6)

For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; G-d himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:18)

Pru URevu - Be Fruitful and Multiply

Children are the greatest hapiness possible, and the more children, the more hapiness. The fact that procreation is the first mitzvah in the Torah indicates its primary importance. Judaism considers having children a religious requirement. The commentators explain that this commandment is an expression of G-d's desire that the world be populated.

One fulfills the minimum requirement with one son and one daughter. However, the mitzva does not end there, every child is considered a fulfillment of this command. A Jew is not permitted to use contraception unless it is absolutely necessary for the health of the mother.

The Third Partner

Man cannot create life; no power on earth can guarantee the birth of a baby. The key to that decision is in the hands of G-d alone. He is the third Partner in the conception of every child.

Any concerns and reservations that a couple may have, the third Partner understands too. He also knows what potentials they have to cope with those concerns. He is gracious and merciful, and will grant children only when there is the potential for them to lead a life with meaning and purpose.

Besides, when a partnership is offered and rejected, a second offer may not be forthcoming so rapidly. Couples who have spurned the potential blessing of life which G-d offered them in their younger years may not be granted it later on.

A couple should accept G-d's blessings when He offers them, gratefully. Let them rest assured that the third Partner, being benevolent and all-knowing, can be trusted to know what time is the best time.

Every Jew and every Jewish child is an entire world. (Sanhedrin 37a)

Children, many children, are the greatest gift and blessing that G-d can bestow upon us. Imagined obstacles should not be allowed to stand in the way of enjoying these blessings.