• Title:
• Be Fruitful and Multiply

• Director:
• Shosh Shlam

• Hebrew and English with English subtitles

• Israel, 55 minutes

• Venue:
• Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater

• Purchase Tickets:
• Show 1  

For ultra-orthodox women there is no higher commandment than the biblical imperative to “be fruitful and multiply.” In many instances this results in families with 10, 12 or even 16 children—as is the case of one Brooklyn mother profiled in this probing documentary. What must it be like to spend most of your married life either pregnant or nursing?  Director Shosh Shlam presents us with a pair of women who revel in their roles as head of their large broods. On the other hand, Shlam also presents two ultra-orthodox women who decided to limit their family size. Yentl, who appears in the film without her husband’s knowledge, goes so far as to assert that many of these perpetually-pregnant women are not as happy as they claim, but caught up in the peer pressure to produce large families. With an even-handedness that gives voice to both sides of the debate, Be Fruitful and Multiply provokes a fascinating discussion of the role of the ultra-orthodox woman.

CO-SPONSORED BY the Embassy of and the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Post-screening discussion: Fertility and Faith

Panelists:

Shosh Shlam, director

Viva Hammer, Research Associate, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Sylvia Fishman, Professor of Contemporary Jewry and American Jewish Sociology, Brandeis University

• Purchase Tickets:
• Show 1