While the Israel Defense Forces have a mission to protect Jewish life on earth, American Jews are on the fertility front lines with their own mission: to bring more Jewish babies into the world.
Women who thought their childbearing years were over are now rethinking their family size as a Jewish way of rebuilding after loss.
“It’s crazy because immediately after hearing about the violence, I just thought about more babies, like a spark in my soul to have more,” said the New Jersey-based mother of four, including a 3-month-old , who thought he was done with sleepless nights and endless crying.
“I’m definitely done having kids, but right now I can’t imagine not having at least one more.”
Despite the difficulty of in vitro fertilization to conceive her three children, she told The Post she was willing to undergo more treatments if it didn’t happen naturally.
“The greatest revenge is life.”
Arielle Mogil, a 37-year-old mother of three in Long Island.
After some 1,400 Israelis were killed and 3,000 left in hospitals, the Jewish community’s response to the shocking loss felt tangible.
“That horrible event just confirmed my decision” to try for more children, said Jessica, a Long Island mother of three, ages 2, 8 and 10, with one on the way.
And he has no intention of stopping.
The decision was driven by a “strong sense of Jewish identity,” coupled with a close relationship with his grandmother, a child during the Holocaust who hid in the woods with his family to survive, after losing his own father and brother.
“She always regrets not having more children,” said Jessica, 36, adding that she wants to avoid any future regrets. “I will not regret having another child,” she added, noting the “effort to replace the Jewish lives that have been lost.”
It’s a sentiment shared by fellow Long Islander Arielle Mogil, who has three children.
“As a mother, I want more children. I saw children buried and held hostage, and my heart broke into a million pieces” said the 37-year-old. “If I could bring another child into the world, it would not be to replace them, but to honor them.”
Her husband, Max, 36, who works in high-tech software, says it’s not about quantity, but quality.
“My wife and I gave up three children in six years. Financially, the cost of children is what prevents us from having more. But for the children we have, it is about instilling core Jewish values from an early age, both in school and at home. That’s how we try to get this going.
“Whether we have one or 10 children, they all need to have that education” to create strong Jewish connections.
As for Leat Corinne, she believes “1,000%” that the secret weapon of Jews today is the womb.
Leat Corinne said before the rising tensions between Israel and Hamas erupted, her husband told her they would never have any more children – but now, she says they will indeed have more children.
“Before, my husband said ‘absolutely not,'” said the Cresskill, New Jersey, mother of two daughters, ages 5 and 3. “Now, I informed him that we have a child, and he said, ‘OK.’ He has no objection.”
The Columbia University graduate, who has rejected his former school for its shameful cowardice against campus hate groups, said, “While we are still living safely in America, we need to add to the number of people we have lost just in this war, forget the previous generation.”
Regarding the unjustified massacre of children and babies at the hands of Hamas, he looked to the future: “Their souls will live on with our future babies. One of them will be my child with my husband.”
The 36-year-old also asked his friends to join the reproductive mandate.
“I got two friends to join me – we have a pregnancy agreement now,” she said, adding, “But their husbands don’t know yet.”
New York City-based matchmaker Bonnie Winston says there is an urgent need for more Jewish Americans to bring more children into the world.
And it’s not just moms who feel the need, but singles — and men — too.
“There’s a lot more urgency now,” says New York City-based matchmaker Bonnie Winston. “Before, customers always wanted to meet their bashert [soulmate], but now they say they want to bring Jewish children into the world. Even male customers – young men in their 20s and 30s – are saying, ‘What’s more, this is the time.'”
Earlier this week, Winston attended an “emergency” Zoom session with fellow Jews from around the world.
“We have to work harder than ever to match our customers so that more Jewish babies come into this world,” he said. “It’s something we can do” to fight the ongoing evil against his brothers in Israel.
Los Angeles-based Joseph Yomtoubian said he is “more focused than ever on finding someone” to have children with.
Los Angeles-based Joseph Yomtoubian is “more focused than ever on finding someone.”
“I want children as soon as possible, to support our people, who are a small percentage of the world,” said the 37-year-old, who works in real estate and social media.
“I’ve always wanted children, but the question is ‘how many’ and I definitely want more of this.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
