Jerusalem’s sidewalks overflow with strollers. Restaurants keep high chairs stacked by the dozen. Parks fill with children’s voices from dawn until dusk. In Israel, children aren’t merely tolerated in public spacesāthey’re expected, welcomed, and celebrated. This child-centered culture isn’t accidental; it reflects one of Scripture’s most foundational instructions and explains why Israel leads the developed world in birth rates with 2.89 children per woman compared to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 1.58. The OECD includes 38 of the world’s most economically advanced countries, making Israel’s fertility rate even more remarkable.
Why does the Bible place such emphasis on having children, and why do Jewish families continue to embrace larger families while birth rates plummet across the Western world? What biblical wisdom have we preserved that others have forgotten?
The answer begins at creation itself.
This command stands as the very first divine instruction to humanity. Being fruitful isn’t merely practical advice but a sacred callingāthe first mitzvah in Torah. Having children isn’t presented as optional or merely personal; it’s fundamental to God’s design for humanity and specifically for His covenant people.
This covenant dimension becomes explicit when God promises Abraham descendants “as numerous as the stars.” Here, children aren’t just family members but vehicles of divine promise: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you” (Genesis 17:6).
Each birth represents the ongoing fulfillment of this ancient promiseāa living testament that God remembers His covenant.
What sets the biblical approach to children apart is how it connects family growth with moral purpose. In Jewish tradition, having children (p’ru ur’vu) begins the sacred task of chinuchāeducation and character formation. The Hebrew root of chinuch means “dedication” and “initiation,” revealing that children aren’t merely to be raised but initiated into a profound moral legacy. This explains the Torah’s emphasis on teaching:
This transmission of values gives biblical fertility its distinctive purpose. Children aren’t status symbols or economic assets but bearers of divine teachingāa living link in an unbroken chain stretching back to Sinai. Each generation serves as both student and teacher in this grand narrative.
The connection between children and national renewal appears throughout Scripture, most beautifully in Zechariah’s vision of restored Jerusalem: “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” (Zechariah 8:4-5).
This prophecy, inscribed today on Jerusalem’s Old City walls, portrays children not as peripheral to national flourishing but central to it.
Walking through Jerusalem now, you witness this prophecy fulfilledāelderly residents sitting outside their homes while children play nearby. This intergenerational harmony isn’t merely heartwarming; it’s the visible manifestation of biblical promise, where grandparents witness God’s faithfulness extending to their grandchildren.
Israel’s remarkable fertility reflects this understanding that each generation bridges past and future. Across both religious and secular communities, Israelis demonstrate unusual commitment to family growth even as education levels and economic prosperity riseāfactors that typically reduce birth rates elsewhere. This isn’t merely cultural preference but stems from a deeply rooted biblical worldview where children embody hope.
Parents across Israeli society invest heavily in creating homes where values thrive. Family Sabbath meals, holiday celebrations, and daily rituals become natural contexts for transmitting the ethical teachings that have sustained Jewish identity through centuries of dispersion and persecution. Each new generation receives not just genes but a moral inheritance.
However, the Bible’s emphasis isn’t merely on quantity. The prophet Malachi speaks of God seeking “godly offspring”
Children raised with divine principles who will carry forward the covenant. Quality matters as much as quantity in biblical parenthood.
Yet Scripture also demonstrates profound sensitivity toward those who cannot bear children. The Torah’s most beloved matriarchsāSarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Hannahāall experienced the pain of infertility before divine intervention. Their stories remind us that family building sometimes requires patience, prayer, and divine assistance.
For those unable to have biological children, the Torah offers profound consolation. When introducing Noah, Scripture says, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations” (Genesis 6:9).
The great commentator Rashi notes something strikingābefore listing Noah’s sons, the verse first describes his righteousness. Our sages derive from this that “the main offspring of the righteous are their good deeds.” One’s true legacy extends beyond biological lineage to the impact of one’s character and contributions.
The prophet Isaiah offers similar comfort: “Let not the barren one say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For so says the Lord… ‘I will give them in My house and in My walls a place and a name, better than sons and daughters'” (Isaiah 56:3-5). This affirms that every person has an essential purpose regardless of parenthood status.
Israel’s vibrant birth rate today represents more than demographic data; it manifests ongoing faith in tomorrow. In a world increasingly uncertain about bringing new life forward, the Jewish embrace of children declares that the future matters. Each baby born in Israel represents not just another citizen but infinite potentialātangible proof that God’s ancient promises endure through generations.
Infinite potential ā a living testimony that God’s promises and principles endure through generations.
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