There is a halacha that feels straightforward on the surface. If a couple has been married for ten years without having children, the man must divorce his wife or marry another woman to fulfill the mitzvah of pru urvu. But once you look at the sources, nothing is simple. Why is this halacha based on the story of Avraham taking Hagar? Why should the pasuk specify “after ten years of Avram living in the land of Canaan”? And why does the gemara treat those words as the key to understanding the entire law?
In this episode I explore how Rashi, Ramban, the Ravya, and Chazal understood the intersection of halacha and midrash in this case. Rashi says the ten years only start once Avraham enters Canaan because something about his infertility changed in that moment. The Ravya says the halacha applies only in Israel, not outside it. Ramban says the count can restart if a couple moves to Israel. Why would the mitzvah of pru urvu depend on geography? And why would moving to Israel be considered a new attempt at having children?
By working through the gemara in Yevamot and the midrashim on Bereishit, I trace how each view understands the promise of “I will make you a great nation” as a real factor in halacha. What emerges is a surprising lesson about hashgacha, human effort, and how halacha recognizes the spiritual reality of the land of Israel.
World of Medrash uncovers how Rashi and the Midrash reveal the deeper structures behind halacha and the stories of the Chumash.
