Two Approaches to Marital Relations During Famine

Full Summary

The shiur begins with a Tosafos (תוספות) question in Pesachim regarding an apparent contradiction. The Gemara (גמרא) states that one should not have marital relations during times of hunger, bringing proof from Yosef who had children before the famine began. However, Yocheved was born when Klal Yisrael descended to Egypt during the second year of the famine, meaning Levi conceived during the famine period. Rabbi Zweig examines three main approaches to resolve this difficulty. Tosafos suggests it was only a midas chasidus (level of piety) for Yosef, not a binding law. The Maharal explains that someone who hasn't fulfilled peru u'revu (the commandment to have children) is permitted, but adds that it wouldn't be fitting for the shevatim (tribes) to be born from such relations, while a daughter (not destined to be a tribe) could be. The Beis Yosef distinguishes between before and after Matan Torah (תורה), though the Maharsha questions this approach. Rabbi Zweig proposes a novel interpretation based on the story of Noach and the ark, where he identifies two separate halachos: one prohibition on relations within the ark itself, and another during the period of worldwide suffering before entering. He suggests there are fundamentally two ways to understand the prohibition during famine times: either as punishment requiring suffering to inspire teshuvah, or as empathy requiring one to share in others' pain. According to his analysis, this reflects a fundamental dispute between Yosef and the brothers about the nature of the famine - whether it was punishment for the sin of selling Yosef (requiring teshuvah) or simply the beginning of the decreed 400-year exile in Egypt. Yosef viewed it as punishment requiring empathy with the suffering brothers, while the brothers saw it as divine decree moving them toward their destined exile, not requiring such restrictions. The shiur concludes with a powerful message about the importance of truly empathizing with others' pain and joy as fundamental to Jewish unity and identity, particularly relevant after Matan Torah when Klal Yisrael became an echad (unified entity).