A Moment in History: The Evolution of Parenting and the Sanctity of Life
Looking back at societies untouched by Torah values, even those considered enlightened, it’s shocking to find no inherent value in human life - not even that of your own children.
(Photo: shutterstock)What wouldn't a mother do for her children? The love a mother has for her child is one of the strongest forces in the world.
It feels so natural to us that it's hard to imagine anything else. In the majority of the modern world, this is indeed the norm.
However, this was not always the case. Before the Torah values spread globally, even seemingly cultured and enlightened societies did not necessarily value human life or that of their own children.
Greek authors like Euripides depicted child selection as an everyday occurrence. People had to choose which children to raise. "Children were thrown into rivers, abandoned in sewers, placed in jars to starve, or left exposed on mountainsides and roadsides, prey for birds and food for wild animals." This was not a description of brutal tribal warfare but accepted natural processes. A person couldn’t raise all their children; they selected the successful one and "disposed" of the others in various ways.
Hilerion, a Roman, traveled to Alexandria on business. In a letter to his wife, he wrote: "Know that I am still in Alexandria, and do not worry if everyone else returns and I remain. I ask and beseech you to care for our child carefully, and as soon as I receive my payment, I will send it to you. If you give birth to a son, keep him; if it is a daughter, dispose of her."
Hilerion needed a son to inherit his rights, but with a daughter, "he had nothing to do," so he suggested disposing of her without explaining how, as it was a common practice, terrifically enough.
It's no surprise that in such societies, where human life held little value, brutal gladiatorial battles or fights between prisoners and animals were daily entertainment for the Romans.
In every country, someone who unlawfully killed another would be severely punished. Yet, there were those whom it was permissible to harm. That's exactly what the Torah teaches us: that life is sacred in itself, no matter whose life or what type of life - even for a fleeting moment, even the life of an unborn. We have no right to destroy life. Embracing this principle changed world culture, and today, any violation of the sanctity of life is considered a sin, with suicide being prohibited in most civilized countries.
