Outside of Haredi society the report was received with far more criticism, and with quite a few ethical questions about the future of the infant born to such elderly parents, and the significant medical risks involved in pregnancy and birth at such an age.
From a strictly Torah perspective. mazel tov on fulfilling Pru u'Rvu.
ReplyDeleteOn the hand, consider the specifics:
1) A child who will be without a father likely by the time he's in early school, certainly by middle school years.
2) A mother who will look forwards to decades of being a widow and single parent
All so he could say "Look, I have a son"
There is more to being a parent than just having a child. Once must consider one's ability to raise him as well.
maybe he will live to 120
DeleteAmen.
DeleteIn the merit of having gone through all this effort to bring a Jewish child into the world, perhaps Hashem will reward him with many more years, so that the child can grow up with BOTH parents, and not be an orphan.
Pru urvu is the first mitzvah. Why begrudge this man? Unfortunately many fathers die or are killed before their kids grow up. We can't tell the future but need to keep the mitzvahs. Plus she can remarry if he passes away
ReplyDeleteBegrudge?!
DeleteI'm pretty sure the vast majority of fathers don't expect to die in the next few years after having their 1st child
Deleteand if they do, should they not attempt to have children? Halacha vs pragma?
DeleteThere is an element of selfishness.
DeleteWhen you create a child, you bring a human being into the world who didn't ask to be born. It is therefore your responsiblity to look after this child and do everything you can to provide for it so it grows up healthy and safe. That is basic parental responsibility everywhere on this planet.
Except for this community where it's "Sure, I created a child that I will not be able to raise or provide for but who cares? I fulfilled the mitzvah of prv u'rvu and that's what matters for me!"
If a parent knows the child will be born handicapped Do you posken it is prohibited to have children or they must be killed?
DeleteI'm no posek but I know there are some poskim who hold that with severe life-incompatible handicaps, abortion is permitted.
DeleteBut what does that have to do with my point? Having produced the child, you look after it.
Are the pundits as critical about the retrieval of sperm from fallen Israel Defense Forces soldiers, to be implanted into women willing to create DNA continuity for the fallen soldier?
ReplyDeleteAsking for a friend...
which pundits, do you mean on here?
DeleteIt is an ethical problem, (i don't speak from halacha where i am not qualified to).
the child would grow up without a biological father, and it might not have been the father's will to have a child after his was niftar.
I was referring to the pundits among the readership of Haaretz, to which this article is catering to.
DeleteThey don't seem to have an ethics problem with lesbian women having babies with donor sperm, or homosexual men paying surrogate women to be impregnated with their sperm, despite the fact that the resulting child will not have a natural father or mother in their lives.
Oh, Hashaagetz - i stopped bothering to read articles on that stupid islamist paper.
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Deleteplease use either your real name or a pseudonym.
It seems to me, that from a strictly Torah perspective, the person's projected life expectancy is not supposed to be a factor when considering parenthood at an advanced age.
ReplyDeleteKoheles 11:6
In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not withhold your hand, for you know not which will succeed, this one or that one, or whether both of them will be equally good.
Yevamos 62b
Rabbi Yehoshua says: If a man married a woman in his youth, he should marry a woman in his old age. If he had children in his youth, he should have children in his old age, as it is stated: “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you know not which will succeed, this one or that one, or whether both of them will be equally good.
The Talmud Ibid.) concludes in the name of Rav Mattana, that the Halacha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua.
The lesson here is that a man should continue having children even in his old age.
The question hence arises, since no one knows how long they will live, how then does the Talmud encourage such an endeavor, considering the possibility that the child might be orphaned from their father at a young age?
I posit that the Talmud is teaching us that a person isn't required to worry about it. It's a non-issue.
A possible explanation may be, that given that not all human efforts result in pregnancy, then if Hashem helped that the child was conceived and born, then it's a sign that this is part of Hashem's plan, and not man's problem.
No one knows how long they will live, and even young people have no guarantee that they will live X number of years. Yet young people get married and have children, praying to Hashem that they merit to raise them and see them advance in life, trusting that He knows what's best for them and their children.
In addition, when a person accepts upon themself the yoke of parenthood, especially in the case of parenthood at an advanced age, then, that can be a tremendous merit for the person, and in reward for going through the effort to bring a Jewish child into the world, Hashem will bless this person with many more years (which they might not have otherwise merited), so that the child can grow up with BOTH parents, and not be an orphan.
I note that Boaz was eighty and Ruth forty years old when they got married. Though Boaz died the day after the wedding, their marriage did not remain childless, and their union led to the eventual birth of King David, the Royal Davidic line, including the Messiah, may he come soo in our days. Imagine how history would look if Boaz hadn't fulfilled his Biblical mandate to procreate even in his advanced age.
If you are really concerned about stopping devastation for children then lets abolish divorce!
DeleteI don't know why your comment is relevant to what I wrote, but I'll respond anyway.
DeleteHashem put the laws of divorce in the Torah, so He obviously knew that sometimes marriages need to be dissolved, and therefore provided a mechanism for such a dissolution, notwithstanding the fact divorces are sometimes devastating for the children involved.
While the Torah allows for divorce, for the sake of their children, fighting couples should take their children into consideration before taking such a drastic step.
That being said, sometimes divorce is actually beneficial for the children involved, for example, in cases where the domestic situation is very toxic, and it's in the children's interest that their parent's craziness shouldn't scar them for life.
do you know these guys?
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/i/status/1769819810609746176
they apparently think hamas are Tzaddikim, and that De Haan was frum
Where does it make such claims?
Delete