Judaism considers having children a religious requirement. This is based primarily on the Biblical verse in Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it...". Other verses which express this value are Genesis 9:1 "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." and 9:7, "And you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply on it." and in Jeremiah 29:6 "Take wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that you may be increased there, and not diminished."
The commentators explain that this commandment is an expression of God's desire that the world be populated as it says in Isaiah 45:18, "For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else."
One fulfills the minimum requirement with one son and one daughter. However, the mitzva does not end there, every child is considered a fulfillment of this command. A Jew is not permitted to use contraception unless it is absolutely necessary for the health of the mother. This point is stressed very strongly in the Halachic (Jewish Law) literature.
© Eliezer C. Abrahamson
