Check it out, offspring at the top in quality (physically, intellectually) comes from small families. In small families parents can devote more attention to each individual child, give that child more resources, which delivers the quality in existence. As for having the quantity in a population and survive through it, who am I to question Darwin, the greatest genius who ever lived.

While, according to some historians, Jews and "Judaizers" made up some 10% of the Roman Empire, Jewish numbers plummeted after the revolts against the Romans in the 1st and early 2nd centuries. (The losses around the Bar Kochba rebellion were enormous.) It took more than 1700 years for Jewish numbers to reach those of the late Second Temple period, as many were lost over the centuries to periodic pogroms in the Christian and Islamic worlds, forced conversions, assimilation, and the usual tribulations of pre-modern existence (famine, disease, war, etc.).

What is he talking about. We should not be such a small group. Where is the winning formula he is seeing? Its like projections of billion dollar sales and coming back with ten dollars and a smile. There are seven billion people in the world. No. The Article is bunk.

Niddah has nothing to do with the public arena. It rarely affects a woman's life outside of her physical relationship with her husband.

...which explains why there are so few now.

We have never modified our religion. Our religion was the most modern and the only monotheist time back. While there are many forms of Islam and Christianity who actually took away parts from their Bible, and then re-added and so on, we Jews have never modified our main commands, despite there are Reform Jews or Masorti today too, the basics have never changed. Our roots have never changed.

speak hebrew¨!

holocausts, pogroms and other calamities are highly unlikely if at all possible. I suspect numbers of Jews will increase dramatically in not so distant future.

People who have small families do so because (unless there are medical reasons) they usually are too narcisstic to want to give more of themselves emotionally and use financial security as an excuse.The proof is look at the non-Jewish and seculars for examples.. Their kids are so self centered that many of them dont even want to have 1 kid and they cannot think beyond the "I" component. As far as Darwin being the greatest genius.. many can argue that as well.

I don't dispute that there may be spiritual benefits for Jewish people in circumcision. I am neither Jewish nor circumcised. I can assure you that the health benefits of circumcision are not as reported by the medical press. We've buried nearly a million mostly circumcised guys who died from AIDS. If a foreskin was a detriment, how did we humans survive the first 4.7 million years, before circumcision?

actually, god gave a non-conditional promise to avraham, that because of his believing and following his commands his offspring will be blessed and the nations will be blessed through his offspring, etc. but the covenant with ya'aqov is based on following god's word. so, because his people israel didn't manage to follow his commandments, the blessing ended up going to christians and muslims, the "abrahamic" religions. thus his seed is as numerous as the stars, including most of the world's population today. let's hope for more of us jews to wake up now that he's brought us back home and not make the same mistakes of our ancestors. oh and number 8, in ancient hebrew it's brith, both ashkenazim and sefaradim are wrong.

"...This reality places the man and woman as equal by experiencing the monthly period together, as a couple..." No. Men do not have the cramps and do not have to shlep around the required paraphenalia. Men do not experience it. All they have to do is keep clear for a few days and wait it out.

But Konner mentions the good sides as well. This mitzvah, he says, has boosted natural increase, which is the essence of evolution according to Darwin. Waiting seven days from the last day of menstruation brings you two to four days before ovulation. As sperm can survive in the uterus several days, the timing determined by Torah is the ideal time to conceive. A bit inaccurate: most ladies wait at least 12 days before going to the mikva, as the ladies took upon themselves this stringency a long time ago

If Rabbi Brackman believe in this Darwinian thing, why he didn't believe in the decent of the man out of apes?

And what about the huge difference between modern orthodox and haredi, for the haredi it was forbiden to create a state without the messiah, those who did were declared dead, the modern orthodox would give their life for the Israel, is this the same religion??????? 2) in the begining the hasidim (baal shemtov) were lookt upon by the Lithuanians ultra orthodox as non jews

I'm glad that you know so very much about the lives of people you've never met. Some people have have large families and some have small families, and for all kinds of reasons. Some people have lots of kids because they do indeed want and are able to, as as you say, give more of themselves emotionally. Some have lots of kids because they are pressured to do so by their communities, or because it's a way of dealing (or not dealing) with problems in their marriages. Some people have small families for the narcissistic reasons you describe (I guess), others because they have children with special needs, or because they truly believe that they are not fit to be the parents of large families. How dare you tar them all with your smug certainty about really intimate things? Life is complicated, people are complicated. Try and think with some compassion - one day you'll need some too, we all do.

Try naming sources for your spurious claims.

I have nothing against a large family. My beef is with the religious who say "go forth and multiply" and then scold their fellows who would rather have a smaller family. Family size should be a decision between husband and wife, not pushed onto a whole community through peer pressure or even threats.

"...there is no medical argument on the advantages of circumcision." Wrong. The medical claims are exaggerated or bogus. It would take hundreds or thousands of circumcisions, with all their risks and harm, to prevent even one case of any of the things it is claimed to be good for. Outside the USA, the developed world does not consider doing it. The rest of the the English-speaking world tried the experiment, found it did no good, and has virtually given it up - with no outbreaks of any of the ailments it was supposed to be good against. In Australia and New Zealand it's hard to find a doctor willing to do it. Before asepsis, circumcision was far more risky than anything it might have prevented. Nor is there the slightest bit of evidence that circumcision increases fertility.

The final letter is a Sof in accordance with the rules of "Beged Kefes" (or "th" in accordance with the Yemenite tradition). Pronouncing the word briT is a mistake. Modern Hebrew includes several serious mistakes in pronunciation (including vowel sounds like the Komatz which morphed into another Patach, etc.) from correct original Hebrew. Learn the sources, Ralph. BRIS is, in fact, more authentic Hebrew.

i think it's the beautiful jewish women

Today we have 2 or 3 bathrooms in every home and plenty of soap and water, at least in America ,...

As Jews were rejected by their neighboors , they stayed together , and survived as a people .

were not assimilated, and because of that,as Charles sayed ,were rejected , stayed together,and survived as a people.

Unfortunately, the author is an ignorant of the Torah he left behind. 1. Judaism IS monogamous in nature. Multiple wives were allowed but always frowned upon starting with Abraham. 2. Jewish warriors were NEVER encouraged to take women. 3. King Solomon WAS criticized for taking 1000 women (a Jewish king is limited to 18). 4. Multiple wives was GOOD for women in ancient times, since many men died in wars and women would not otherwise have been able to bear children who would take care of them in their old age.

We and apes are descendant from common apelike ancestors branching off at different times. We are not descended from apes.