Jewish Education

25 Iyar 5782

“And He is found, just as He is found there—in the higher worlds—so is He to be found in the very lowest worlds.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 51)

Although G‑dliness experiences various degrees of concealment in the different worlds, its essence remains equally hidden to all worlds, “for no thought can apprehend Him at all, even in the higher worlds.” It follows that G‑d’s providence is equally bestowed upon the higher worlds as it is on the lower worlds, even our physical world. After creating the worlds, G‑d did not withdraw from them, Heaven forbid, and leave them over to their own devices. He remains attached to everything that goes on in them, directing each and every moment through His individual Divine providence.

This is the essence of what we proclaim in Shema, “Havayeh Elokeinu, Havayeh Echad.” Havayeh, which transcends all worlds, is Elokeinu, G‑d’s constricted form, it is all one. There is no difference between the G‑d who took the Yiden out of Egypt and the G‑d who watches over our every action. When we take this to heart, our individual actions, the way we use the resources and talents at our disposal, gain a whole new weight and meaning.

“If a man consecrates some of the field of his inherited property to the L‑rd …” (Vayikra 27:16)

“Why should the Torah allow us to give to the Temple or to its priests possessions that G‑d has granted us? Isn’t this being ungrateful to G‑d, or perhaps shirking the responsibility that He has placed upon us by putting these resources at our disposal? The answer is that all our possessions really belong to G‑d. He has just entrusted them to our care during our lifetimes in order that we refine them, and in order that by refining them, we refine ourselves and the world. It follows that we have no inherent ‘rights’ to what we possess; they are not ours to abuse or waste at our discretion.

If this is true of our external possessions, it is true all the more of our talents and our bodies. We must take proper care of them and direct them toward positive ends; they are not ours to abuse or misuse. And this is true all the more of our children, whom we value even more than ourselves. Our children belong to G‑d, who has entrusted them to our care in order for us to raise them to be good and holy. It is our nature as parents to spare no effort in pursuit of what is best for our children. Our highest priority, then, should be to provide them with a Jewish education, based on the Torah’s eternal values. This is the best way to ensure their truest, most lasting happiness.” (Daily Wisdom, Lubavitcher Rebbe)

“Teach me, O L‑rd, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep it to the last.” (Tehillim 119:33)

Our children’s education must be in the form of “keeping to the last.” Not only should it provide intellectual stimulation and connect a child’s daat to the daat of Torah, it should also provide a clear path forward in life, a path of righteousness and truth, one that is enduring and grants life. Only the way of Torah can provide this for a Jewish child. This must be made clear from the very onset. We are not only learning to learn, we are learning to do; to live our life according to the instructions of the one and only true G‑d, who fills all worlds equally, whether it be the spiritual worlds above or a child’s recitation of the morning blessings here in this world.