In the opening words of this week’s Torah portion we read, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—you must say to them (no one may ritually defile himself).” Rashi comments on the redundancy, “say… you must say” and explains that this comes to teach that the adults must be cautioned about the minors (that they too avoid ritual impurity).
This is one of the instances where the Torah encourages education of children. Education is key to continuity, in our case Jewish continuity. Education has always been an integral part of Judaism and the Jewish way of life. Jewish law teaches that as soon as a child has awareness, parents should teach the child verses of Torah and the practice of Judaism.
Education can take various forms, generally broken down into two categories, negative and stern or positive and uplifting. Successful education usually contains a blend of the two, love and discipline. A lot depends on the personality of the educator as well as that of the student.
As we consider the balance of discipline and love, we take guidance from our sages who tell us “With the left (weaker) hand we push away (discipline), and with the right (stronger) hand we draw near (love).
How do we know if we have been successful in finding the proper balance and blend of love and discipline? For that we explore the beautiful insight that Chassidus offers on Rashi’s comment cited above on our Parsha. The Hebrew word for caution that Rashi uses is “L’hazhir.” The other connotation of L’hazhir, is Zohar – radiance or illumination. You want to know what successful education looks like? If it causes the child to shine and be illuminated. Does it bring out the light of their soul and personality? Does it place them in a space where they are focused on their light rather than their darkness? Then you know you are on the right track.
In truth, this principle applies to the education of adults as much as children.
I am blessed to be surrounded by generations of successful educators. I was raised by educators. I am married to an educator. Together we have raised children who are educators. My life experience confirms this teaching (not that truth needs my confirmation). Successful education equals radiance.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin