The Yalkut Gershuni, on the mishna מרבה נשים מרבה כשפים, the more wives the more witchcraft cites the Eizor Eliyahu: The intent of these words is that it may enter a person’s mind to have many wives in order to have more children. His intention would be to bring the redemption quicker since by doing this he is able to empty out the neshamos from the chamber called guf as chazal say Moshiach will not come until all the souls are vacated from guf (the name of a chamber in heaven that is reserved for the souls waiting to be born). It was due to this reasoning that a sage in Yerushalayim thought to permit marrying two women, countering the ban of Rabbeinu Gershom of marrying more than one wife.
We know that originally men were allowed to marry more than one wife (See Devarim 21:15), as long as he is able to support them (Yevamos 65a. See the Rambam in Hilchos Ishus, 14:3. The Yerushalmi in Yevamos 4:12 relates that in the years of hunger R' Tarfon, who was a kohen, married 300 women. As a result, they were able to eat Teruma and he was therefore able to have sufficient food for them.). We see this with Yaakov who married four wives and Shlomo Hamelech who had 700 wives and 300 pilagshim, concubines (Melachim 1, 11:3). In the time of the Mishna, the sages said that it is better not to marry more than four wives in order that he can be with each of his wives once weekly (See Yevamos 44a). The Shulchan Aruch (Even Ha’ezer, 1:9,10) writes that a person can marry many wives as long as he can support them. But better not to marry more than four wives in order that he can be with each of his wives once weekly. R' Gershom instituted that not to marry more than one wife, but his injunction didn’t spread to every community.
While on this subject, let’s conclude with the following. The sefer Tevuos Ha’aretz relates that the kabbalist R' Nosson Nota Shapiro was the first Ashkenazi to marry two wives, as was the custom of the sefardim. Likewise, the Shu”t Ginas Vradim writes that the great Rabbanim of Yerushalayim permitted the great kabbalist R' Nosson Nota Shapiro to marry another wife with the signature of 100 Rabbanim. “We saw that he married another wife with a ceremony with the Rabbanim of the city. R' Nosson Nota Shapiro lived in the Chatzer Beis Haknesses of the sefardim with his two wives, and this was known.” The Ginas Vradim also writes, “We remember that here in Yerushalayim the great R' Zerachya Guta and his Beis Din permitted the sage R' Naftali Ashkenazi to marry another wife with 100 signatures of Rabbanim.”
Nida 13b. In 1952, parents of a child who died young due to genetic disorders (the doctors estimated that a child with this disorder lives around two years) and had another child with that disorder, presented a question to R' Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Even Haezer, 1:62): The doctors had informed them that all their subsequent children would likely carry this genetic mutation, and they may never have healthy children. As a result, the parents asked for a ruling regarding the use of contraceptives. R' Moshe ruled that any contraceptive that would kill the sperm was forbidden because even a child who is born sick and dies in early childhood will merit eternal life, and it is for his benefit to come into the world. This is in addition to the hastening of Mashiach with every child. However, a contraceptive that prevents conception may be permitted for up to four years, when compounded with the horrible pain of watching a child pass away in infancy. Refusing contraceptives, though will be a great merit for them. After four years, R' Moshe instructed they try again to fulfill the pasuk, בבקר זרע את זרעך ולערב אל תנח ידך, in the morning sow your seed and in the evening do not be idle (Koheles 11:6), in hope that time might heal them, or a cure would be discovered.
Chelek Maaseh Ha’artez, p. 458. This was authored by R' Yehosef Schwartz. Like his contemporary R' Shamson Rafael Hirsch (R' Hirsch quotes R' Schwartz in his commentary to Devarim 11:29) R' Yehosef Schwartz, who lived from 1804 until 1865, attended German universities. They each did this with the specific goal of attaining knowledge they felt was necessary for them to fulfill their mission. Nevertheless, neither one of them completed the requirements for the doctoral degree. After studying in yeshiva, R' Yehosef attended the University of Wurzburg for several years, studying the subjects he felt he needed to expand his Torah knowledge: astronomy, mathematics, natural sciences and classical languages. He had already become an exceptional Torah scholar with extensive knowledge of Bavli and Yerushalmi, poskim and Midrash. When he was in his late 20s, he had become convinced that his personal tikun was to move to Eretz Yisrael, which he proceeded to do despite strong family pressure. Because of various wars and other complications, the trip from Germany to the Holy Land took him two years to complete. He eventually arrived in Eretz Yisrael on the 13th of Nissan in 1833. His initial plan was to settle in Tzefas, but upon arriving in Eretz Yisrael, he was invited to visit Yerushalayim. Once he arrived there, he decided to take up residence there, where he remained for the rest of his life. As was not uncommon among Ashkenazim who lived in Eretz Yisrael at that time, he adopted the local sefardi dress and many of their customs. He never became a member of any of the various kehillos to the exclusion of the others, but rather he considered himself part of all communities. After arriving in Eretz Yisrael, he taught himself an additional two languages, Ladino and Arabic, both of which would help him in his future research. Shortly after moving to Yerushalayim, at the age of 29, he married a twelve-year-old orphan. They had eight children, four sons and four daughters. However, six of their children passed away during R' Schwartz’s lifetime from the rampant diseases that plagued the country. He merited taking only one daughter to the chupah; a younger daughter married the year after his passing. Although only two of his children survived him, a large number of his descendants are living today. For the remainder of his life, his livelihood was provided by his family, specifically by his older brother, R' Chaim Schwartz, a Rav in Europe. R' Yehosef kept an active and lengthy correspondence with this brother, who often published the letters he received from R' Yehosef in various periodicals in Europe. R' Chaim Schwartz encouraged R' Yehosef to write and publish his sefarim, and arranged that many of R' Yehosef’s works were translated into German. R' Yehosef was known as a great provider of tzedakah, notwithstanding that he and his family always lived in dire poverty and that he, personally, followed a very ascetic lifestyle. He fasted frequently and slept little. R' Schwartz devoted much of his life to traveling extensively throughout Eretz Yisrael, although as is depicted from his correspondence that this travel involved a great deal of danger. He also traveled to England and the United States to attempt to raise funds for the yishuv in Yerushalayim. R' Schwartz is most famous for his extensive work methodically researching the borders of Eretz Yisrael and the areas inhabited by each of the shevatim. He studied extensively to accurately determine the halachos of halachic daybreak, sunrise, sunset and nightfall. He writes that both in Eretz Yisrael and in chutz la’aretz, he checked the physical features of sunrise over 4,000 times in order to understand the topic well. Some of R' Schwartz’s published material was used during his lifetime to produce educational materials for religious schools in Europe. His sefarim include Toldos Yosef on astronomy and the halachos of zemanim, Tevuos Ha’aretz on the details of the land of Eretz Yisrael and Ma’asei Ha’aretz which is a history of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael from the time of the churban until his time. He also wrote on linguistics, philology and phonemics, but always with a Torah perspective on how this research demonstrates the correctness of one halachic practice over another, or how we can thereby understand a piece of Gemara or Midrash. In addition, he published a volume of his own responsa, called Rosh Hashoni.
R' Shapiro was the nephew of the Megale Amukos and author of Tuv Ha’aretz, published in 1655. He made the grueling journey from Krakow to Eretz Yisrael and became the Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi of Yerushalayim, shortly after his arrival. He learned together with two other rabbis who themselves were deeply involved with disseminating the writings of the Arizal, namely, R' Yaakov Tzemach and R' Meir Paparush. Through them he had free access to a vast array of manuscripts of the Arizal that they had been safeguarding.
Even Ha’ezer 1:9.
Even Ha’ezer 1:9.
He was a student of the Maharit who lived from 1568 until 1639.
