The headlines are screaming about wars, terrorism and scandals. People are suffering from physical and mental illnesses, financial instability, divorce and infidelity. So why bring children into this mess of a world? Why build a family, only to experience hardship, challenge and strife?

We’ve heard this sentiment before. When the Jews were suffering from slavery in Egypt, many demoralized men abstained from intimacy with their wives, reluctant to bring children into a miserable existence. And when Pharaoh issued a decree that all newborn baby boys be thrown into the Nile, even Amram, the leader of the Jews, succumbed and separated from his wife.

His young daughter, Miriam, was brave. She pointed a finger at her father and exclaimed, “Pharaoh decreed that no Jewish boys should live, but by not having children, you are essentially decreeing that no Jewish boy OR girl has a chance to exist!”

Amram heard the wisdom in his daughter’s words and resumed relations with his wife. From this union, Moses was conceived. Baby Moses was not only rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh's own daughter, he grew up to lead the entire Jewish people out of Egypt.

So why bring a child into a challenging world? Because that child may just be the catalyst for redemption.

Thoughtstream: Today, I will recognize that my children are capable of making this world a better place.

Source: Talmud Sotah 12a