Know! certain [types of] trees, when made into [wood for] beds, are propitious for bearing and raising children. The opposite is also true: there are those that are not propitious….
This is hinted at in the verse, “The man kept asking about us and our birthplace” (Genesis 43:7). And it is brought in the Midrash: He even told us about the wood of our beds (Bereishit Rabbah 91:10). For, as explained above, the wood of the bed affects the favorableness of the conditions for childbearing.
דַּע, שֶׁיֵּשׁ עֵצִים, שֶׁכְּשֶׁעוֹשִין מֵהֶם מִטָּה, הֵם מְסֻגָּלִים לְהוֹלָדַת בָּנִים וּלְגַדְּלָם, וְכֵן לְהֵפֶךְ יֵשׁ שֶׁאֵינָם מְסֻגָּלִים וְכוּ'.
Know! certain [types of] trees, when made into [wood for] beds, are propitious for bearing and raising children. The opposite is also true: there are those that are not propitious….
וְזֶה מְרֻמָּז בַּפָּסוּק: שָׁאוֹל שָׁאַל הָאִישׁ לָנוּ וּלְמוֹלַדְתֵּנוּ (בראשית מ״ג:ז׳). וְאִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (בראשית פ' צ"א): אֲפִלּוּ עֲצֵי עֲרִיסוֹתֵינוּ גִּלָּה לָנוּ. כִּי עַל־יְדֵי עֲצֵי הַמִּטָּה עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה סְגֻלַּת הַהוֹלָדָה כַּנַּ"ל:
This is hinted at in the verse, “The man kept asking about us and our birthplace” (Genesis 43:7). And it is brought in the Midrash: He even told us about the wood of our beds (Bereishit Rabbah 91:10). For, as explained above, the wood of the bed affects the favorableness of the conditions for childbearing.