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Is having many children always a mitzvah (מצוה), even when parents can't raise them properly? The shiur argues that pru urvu requires quality parenting, not just procreation, citing cases where gedolim avoided having children rather than raise them poorly. The pre-flood generation's error was treating children as extensions of themselves rather than separate beings needing moral development.
Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing what many consider a secular value but argues is actually a fundamental Torah (תורה) principle: responsible family planning focused on quality over quantity. He analyzes seemingly disjointed verses in Kohelet chapter 4 that discuss the yetzer tov arriving at age 13 (versus the earlier yetzer hara), the pre-flood generation having 'too many children,' and wicked people not understanding they do evil. The rabbi cites three Talmudic sources supporting the principle that one shouldn't have children if unable to raise them properly: King Hezekiah initially refused to have children knowing his son would be wicked; the Talmud (תלמוד) suggests post-Temple destruction Jews should stop having children rather than see them secularized; and Amram divorced his wife during Egyptian persecution to prevent children from being killed or assimilated.
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Kohelet 4:13-16
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