Contraception in Contemporary Orthodox Judaism

These reasons, plus a healthy dose of social pressure coming from
various sources depending on personal situations, have created a
situation of rapidly growing communities, schools, and an assortment
of other institutions. Needless to say, raising a large family and
maintaining the various support networks for a large number of these
families is costly and not without pitfalls. Not everyone can support a
large family. Large families come with larger numbers of problem
situations – financial strain, deviant children, medical care, etc. The
questions arise: does the Torah truly obligate Jews to have large
numbers of children and are all forms of contraception forbidden by
Torah law? These are not new issues. They have been discussed in
rabbinic literature for centuries. We have chosen to review them in
this article because changing social conditions, both in Israel and
outside, appear to be generating a rethinking of the wisdom of large
numbers of large families.
The Obligation to Procreate
The very first commandment, given to Adam HaRishon immediately
after his creation, was to be ‘fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’.
This statement was repeated to Noach as a blessing upon his
emergence from the ark following the flood. At Sinai, in some
manner not recorded in the Torah, B’nei Yisrael received it as a
positive mitzvah, the first of the 613, according to the order of the
Sefer Hachinuch. At first glance, it seems to be a mitzvah with no
definitive end – only when the world becomes filled can the
commandment be considered fulfilled. Any Jew not actively involved
in this mitzvah would be shirking a fundamental responsibility. Any
attempt to prevent the conception and birth of another child would
be tantamount to active rebellion against the divine will.
However, as the even moderately educated Jew knows, things are not
so simple. The commandment to be fruitful and multiply is subject to