Jewish teaching within family Essay

In this essay I will look at what Jews believe they must do to bring up and care for their family, what rabbi’s say on this and what is written in the bible. The first thing I will examine is contraception many Jews consider a large family as a blessing from god and for this reason see contraception as a hindrance and interference with the divine plan. â€Å"God formed the world†¦. He created it not to remain empty; he made it to be populated† Isaiah but on the other hand Judaism regards preserving life as of much importance or more. Where there may be complications or a hazard to the woman if she falls pregnant contraception should be used . using contraceptives for convenience how ever is not regarded as an excuse i. e. paying for their TV instead of having children is not considered acceptable in Judaism. Judaism considers it wrong for anyone Jew or not to have sex out of marriage, although it does not attach a stigma to a child born out of wedlock. Within Jewish marriage sexual behaviour is guided by a code of conduct from the torah in which a man and his wife are not allowed to have sexual relations during the wife’s menstruation period and for an entire week after couples find this actually strengthens their marriage with each buying each other gifts or doing other non physical acts, after this a woman is supposed to go to a pool called a mikveh where she immerses her entire body in water, this is supposed to create an atmosphere almost like the engagement period. â€Å"A wife returning from the mikveh is as fresh to her husband as on their wedding day†. Parents and children: Judaism teaches that parents and children have a certain responsibilities towards each other. â€Å"Honour your father and mother† a rabbi once said this works both ways he said this is not only an instruction to the child but also to the parent â€Å"make yourselves the kind of people your child wants to respect†. Parents are expected to feed clothe, and educate their children, and see that they can support themselves. â€Å"Teach your son a trade† says the Talmud â€Å"or teach him to become a robber†. They are supposed to teach them basic survival skills like swimming and a craft they are also supposed to teach them some things about the world like don’t accept lifts from strangers which is considered as basic common in some places but in Judaism these are considered as religious obligations. They also are supposed to teach them morale obligations and to be morale people. They are given guidance and a guide sometimes it is necessary to punish a child says the Talmud but do not threaten to do so either do it right away or let it drop. Children are supposed to be as equally respectful to their parents though â€Å"see that they eat and drink, and take them where they need to go† Talmud. They must treat their parents with respect and avoid hurting them. `