By Stan Goodenough

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth… (Genesis 1:28)

This was the first thing God said to newly created mankind, His first commandment to them.

The Bible beautifully describes the conception by a woman who has His blessing as a visitation from the LORD.

And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (Genesis 21:1-2)

And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD. (1 Samuel 2:21)

As in most societies, the birth of children is cause for much celebration and rejoicing in Jewish communities. Religious Jewish families typically have larger families, doubtless also because the Bible calls children a blessing from the LORD:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them… (Ps 127:3-5)

Along with joy at the safe arrival of the newborn is felt a new weight on the shoulders of his or her parents, as Jewish belief holds that there is no more important role in life than the raising of one’s children to responsible adulthood.

© Israel My Beloved