In our Shul there is a tradition that the young boys lead the congregation in singing “Ein K’Elokeinu” at the end of Shabbat morning services. Lately the group of boys participating has been growing. This past Shabbat there was a large group of boys ages 3-12, and the singing was particularly robust. The next morning, Lou Furman shared with me that he found the passage that we read following Ein K’Elokeinu very poignant this week, on the heels of the vigorous singing by the boys.
That passage (citing the Talmud) reads, “Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, for it is said: And all your children shall be learners (of the Torah) of the L-rd, and great will be the peace of Ba’na’ich – your children. Do not read Ba’na’ich, but rather Bo’na’ich – your builders.”
The message is that the children who study Torah, who are raised in the traditions of Yiddishkeit, are the builders of G-d’s universe, ensuring a Jewish future.
It is interesting to note that our enemies were intuitively aware of this. They declared, “If there are no kids, there will be no goats.” They knew that the way to undermine the Jewish people was to deter the education of Jewish children. Pharaoh knew it. Antiochus knew it. Torquemada knew it. Stalin knew it.
We would do well to take a page from our enemies’ playbook and be laser-focused on the Jewish education of children. A child who is imbued with pride and passion in being Jewish, will be a proud and active member of the Jewish community when they grow up. This is how we create a Jewish future.
This past week, the Sydney Opera House was host to a memorial event for those who were massacred at the Chanukah event on Bondi Beach. One of the wounded survivors, Leibel Lazaroff, was released from the hospital that day. He and two friends sang a moving song entitled Habet. The lyrics are taken from Tachanun, where we ask G-d to see how despite the scorn and assault we suffer by the hands of our enemies, we have not forgotten Your name. Please don’t forget us. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/iuwf3jsDcuw.
On a different note, we launched our new JLI course this week, Captivating Cases in Rabbinic Responsa. The first class was phenomenal. In the words of one of the participants, “Lesson 1 was super interesting.” It is not too late to jump on board and sign up for the course at www.chabadneworleans.com/jli. CLE credits for legal professionals.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin