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Ir-Shay, Ronit
"Family Planning: a Halakhic-Gender Perspective," Ir-Shay, Ronit. Nashim, 12, Fall, 2006, 95-128.
Synopsis: The halakha binds observant Jews to fulfill the biblical commandment to "be fruitful and multiply." The rabbis in the Talmud expanded this biblical obligation into two injunctions: lashevet—"to populate the world," and la'erev—"to father more children," interpreted as meaning that each man ought to father as many children as he is able.
This commandment is characterized by a dialectic tension. On the one hand, emphasis is placed on the importance of the commandment and of fulfilling it punctiliously. On the other, there is recognition of the need to qualify it, because of the existential difficulties it presents. This tension is emphasized in the literature of the Sages and the medieval rabbinic decisors, but it is absent from most contemporary halakhic rulings, whose rhetoric is usually that contraception or "family planning" is a "necessary evil," a product of "invidious modernism." Halakhic decisors encourage young couples to start having children immediately after marriage (at least until, health permitting, they have fulfilled the biblical commandment of procreation) and to raise as large a family as possible.
This trend, the author argues, caters to male rather than female interests, and is fueled by a covert gender perspective that assumes that woman's main purpose is to bear and raise children. The article investigates the existence of a halakhic basis for family planning, and the extent to which that basis has been and could be invoked to take women's interests into account in family planning by observant young couples today.
The article presents an excellent review of the major rabbinic sources on the topic.
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ADDITIONAL READING
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Ozarowski, Joseph
"Tubal Ligation and Jewish Law," Ozarowski, Joseph. JHCS, 7, 1984, 42-52.
Synopsis: This article provides an overview to the various halakhot involved in tubal ligation.
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Rosner, Fred
"Contraception in Jewish Law," Rosner, Fred. Tradition, 12:2, 1971, 90-103.
Synopsis: This article presents the moral, religious, and halakhic issues regarding contraception in Jewish law.
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Schachter, Herschel
"Halachic Aspects of Family Planning," Schachter, Herschel. JHCS, 4, 1982.
Synopsis: In this article, Rabbi Shachter examines different types of birth control with the goal of providing information so that a person, together with the guidance of a rabbi, can make an educated decision.
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Weinreb, Shaul
"Tubal Ligation and the Prohibition of Sirus," Weinreb, Shaul. Journal of Halacha & Contemporary Society, XL, 2000.
Synopsis: This article analyzes halakhic and hashkafic issues involved in the use of various birth control methods, in particular by women who have completed their desired childbearing.
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Aiken, Lisa
To Be A Jewish Woman. Aiken, Lisa. Jason Aronson, 1992.
Synopsis: A thorough and thoughtful exploration of the role of women in modern, though traditional Jewish life.
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Biale, Rachel
Women and Jewish Law: The Essential Texts, Their History, and Their Relevance for Today. Biale, Rachel. Knopf, 1995.
Synopsis: How has a legal tradition determined by men affected the lives of women? What are the traditional Jewish views of marriage, divorce, sexuality, contraception, abortion? Women and Jewish Law gives contemporary readers access to the central texts of the Jewish religious tradition on issues of special concern to women. Combining a historical overview with a thoughtful feminist critique, this pathbreaking study points the way for "informed change" in the status of women in Jewish life.
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Henkin, Yehuda Herzl
Responsa On Contemporary Jewish Women's Issues. Henkin, Yehuda Herzl. Ktav, 2003.
Synopsis: Twenty-four modern responsa translated from Hebrew. Discussion of the separation of men & women in the synagogue and the prayer "who has not made me a woman", women's prayer groups, hair covering, more. It is chapter 21 on "Nursing and Birth Control" that is relevant to this category in the JOFA online library.
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