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Exemption from Peru Urvu

I have inherited bipolar depression from my father. I am able to control mine to some extent with medication, but it ruined my father’s life as he went undiagnosed for much of his. I therefore do not consider myself a suitable candidate to marry and/or procreate as it is virtually certain any children I have would inherit this. Am I exempt from the commandment to marry and procreate under these circumstances?

Answer:

This is a difficult question to answer.

In principle, the obligation to procreate applies to everybody.

However, many authorities write that there is no obligation on a mamzer to have children, because his children are also mamzerim, and it is surely not the will of the Torah that there should be more mamzerim in the world (see Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 4, no. 16, Chap. 5, sec. 5).

The same will apparently apply here: The Torah surely doesn’t want a person to fill the world with such painful suffering, and this would seemingly imply an exemption from the mitzvah. However, this remains less clear cut than the matter of a mamzer, and we cannot enter the “mind” of Hashem and decide which lives are worthwhile and which are not.

Moreover, I would certainly consult with experts before making such sure decisions; perhaps the certainty is not so certain, and perhaps there are birth technologies that will enable a circumvention of the genetic problem.

Good luck and best wishes.

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