When the Sicha on Family Planning Entered the Congressional Record

When Senator Rudy Boschwitz delivered the Rebbe’s talk on opposing family planning at congress and had it transcribed in their records, he received a letter from the Rebbe profoundly thanking him for inscribing the Torah’s view into congressional record.

After Senator Rudy Boschwitz entered the Rebbe’s talk on family planning into the congressional record, he received a difficult letter from the wife of a CEO of a large national corporation. She wrote to him asking him why are you putting these archaic opinions in the record. 

As family planning and other similar ideologies began gaining popularity the Rebbe spoke out openly against it: “Children are the most cherished Divine blessing known to mankind. ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it’ (Gen. 1:28) is the first precept and blessing in the Torah,“ the Rebbe began.

The first Mitzvah tells us about the universe, the Rebbe continued “It teaches us that the world was created for the sake of mankind, and that it is a Divine obligation to marry and raise a family…A truly blessed home is one that is filled with the joy of children” 

“…Each child that is born into the home represents an additional Divine blessing to the parents and grandparents;” screaming against the current ideology the Rebbe proclaimed: “There are no unwanted children, and no child is a burden, G-d forbid.”

The Rebbe addressed one by one all apprehensions of having a large family. Dealing with the questions of money and livelihood the Rebbe said: “Knowing that children are a blessing from G-d, parents have no reason to be apprehensive about being able to provide for the child. Surely the Giver of the blessing will provide. And “He who feeds and sustains the whole world” is able to take care of the children as well as of the parents.”

Then the Rebbe asked: “What about a home where the relationship between husband and wife is in need of improvement; should they hesitate about increasing the family?“ The Rebbe, basing his guidance on a clear directive in the Torah answered: “Children, more than anything else, cement the mutual relationship between husband and wife and the peace and harmony in their home.”

The Rebbe, ascribing this trend to the evil inclination, says that sometimes the evil inclination comes in the most cunning ways by saying that by not having another child he or she will be: “able to devote more time and attention to worthy good causes, communal causes, and the like.” Of course, this is merely a distraction from our evil inclination.

“Experience has shown that couples who take the path of so-called “family planning,” the Rebbe continued, “a catching phrase…purporting to give parents the right to decide if, and when, and how many children they should have, sooner or later discover to their great dismay, that it has been counter-productive in the very areas of its supposed advantages.”

The Rebbe explains: “The actual effects of family planning have been, and are, emotional upsets, frustrations, strained relationship between husband and wife, all of which inevitably taking a toll of ill health. It has caused such couples to seek psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, marriage counselling in an effort, often futile, to straighten matters out.”

The Rebbe laments the sad outcome this brings: “Thus, far from bringing orderliness into family life, family planning has caused disturbances and complications in the normal family affairs, with added financial burdens in doctors’ bills, reduced mental and physical efficiency, not to mention the fact that family planning has often proved irreversible, and would-be parents eventually discovered that the blessing of children, or more children, has, alas, eluded them.”

The Rebbe advocated for a normal, natural, and healthy lifestyle “When the normal physical and spiritual process of married life, as decreed by the Creator and Giver of life, is tampered with, distorted, or altered, the peace of the household is bound to be disturbed.”

We should not play G-d for “It is folly to attempt to take over G-d’s bookkeeping and accounting to figure out how many children He is able to care for.”

The Rebbe called on the mothers and wives to propagate this idea. No wife and mother needs to feel chagrined at being dubbed “old fashioned”, or at odds with modern times and modern culture,” The Rebbe continued. “What “modern culture”? That which produced the Holocaust? The Holocaust of a million Jewish children?“

The Rebbe ended his talk with the following blessing: “And in the merit of adhering to G-d’s Plan, all human planning and designs against our people, and against humanity in general, will come to naught, and we can confidently look forward to the fulfillment of the Divine promise, through the mouth of our Prophet Micha (7:15): ‘”As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will show you wonders.”’

Below are his remarks introducing the Rebbe’s talk: Mr. President, I wish to enter into the RECORD today excerpts of a speech given by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who is one of the truly saintly people of our age and one of the extraordinary leaders of the Jewish faith. The speech has to do with family planning and the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s words and thoughts on it are very stirring. I hope that many of my colleagues will read it and read it with great care. 

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the excerpts in their entirety be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,

The Rebbe thanked him greatly for doing so and sent him the attached letter. 

Senator Bochwitz was well acquainted with the Rebbe and was pleased to read that talk, on the Rebbe’s behest, into the record. He responded to his critiques that the Rebbe had a very good sense of modern life and the Rebbe’s opinion was well found and just. Senator Boschwitz recounted this episode in an interview with Jem

To read this week’s booklet and the Rebbe’s talk in full click here.

Rebbe Responsa kindly requests anyone who may be in possession of letters of the Rebbe in English, to send them by email so that these unique treasures can benefit the public.

These selected letters are sourced from the extensive collection of over 5,000 English letters written by the Rebbe, accessible through the Rebbe Responsa app

Click here to download the booklet. 

  • Click here for PDF in booklet format.
  • Click here to view all previous editions.
  • See also previous booklet on Parshas Noach — The Seven Noahide Laws.

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