Be Fruitful and Multiply

The film’s title is a commandment many Orthodox women take seriously and literally, but how do they really feel about bearing and raising 10, 12, even 16 children? Director Shosh Shlam profiles four ultra-Orthodox women in New York and Israel to create a compelling look at the responsibilities and joys of procreation. Gaining trusted access to the private lives of these women, she asks serious questions, such as whether there is peer pressure to have many children and if there is room in the lives of Orthodox women for their own emotional needs and inner world. One Israeli mom who works as a doula (lay midwife) speaks eloquently about the tyranny of multiple childbirths, while an American mother proclaims greater joy and happiness with each new child and grandchild born.
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w/English Subtitle
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Running Time
50