Chapter 1 - Preparing For Children: Life Questions

A: Background

10. Reinforcing the Family Model - The Shoah and the Jewish State

The importance of having large families seems to have been reinforced over the last fifty years in many circles by the influence of outside circumstances, and most specifically the Shoah, on the consciousness of contemporary religious Jews. There is no question that the enormous blow to the Jewish population following the Holocaust has caused an increase in consciousness among many to the effect that there is a sense of urgency to try and replenish the lost numbers.

In this regard it is interesting to note that family size in general - not specifically among the religious population - tends to be much larger among Jews in Israel than among Jews anywhere else in the world. This appears to be so for a number of reasons. Among other causes is the fact that Israel has a large number of orthodox or traditional Jews, and the additional fact that the Jewish population in Israel is drawn from many different places where the tradition of large family size was prevalent until the group's arrival in Israel. One can, however, suggest that there are additional factors at work here: the consciousness of living in a Jewish state which claims responsibility for the continuation of the Jewish nation can be suggested as a factor. In addition, the idea of a state "under siege" that needs as many hands as possible can be offered as a factor in influencing family size for some. Israel tends to be a more child- conscious and child-oriented society than most, and this unquestionably affects the situation. The pressures to have children here, as well as the inherent attraction of bringing children into a child-oriented society, are greater than on Jews in many other places.