This week?s parsha is a real ?double-header;? as it contains the two most significant and best-known sections of the Torah: The Ten Commandments and the Shema.
Interestingly, Moshe sandwiches these two powerful messages in between dramatic warnings to the people regarding their offspring. First, prior to the Aseret HaDibrot, Ten Commandments, he cautions them not to ?produce sons and daughters who will refuse to follow the ways of G-d.? And then, after the Shema, Moshe gives the little speech that has become a famous part of the Hagada: ?If your child ask you tomorrow what these laws are about... recount to them the story of the Exodus, and tell them that these mitzvot are our mission and what gives us life.?
Moshe, in his great wisdom, is reminding us that Jewish history is a continuum. If our children do not learn to grasp the beauty of Torah, to take our Torah and make it their own, then we will have ultimately failed. All the knowledge, loyalty and allegiance to Hashem that we possess will vanish into thin air unless we can communicate the beauty of a Jewish lifestyle to our kids.
For the simple truth is, we are only as successful as our next generation.
Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, z.l., once commented on the phrase in Shema, ?V?Shinantam l?vanecha, v?dibarta bam? (and you shall teach your children and speak of them). Most people think the ?them? refers to the words of the Torah; i.e., you shall speak of the Torah to your children. But Rabbi Bernstein said the ?them? are the kids themselves. That is, don?t only think you have an obligation to simply teach your kids. You must also speak about them with pride, and be the kind of person who very clearly exhibits a love and acceptance of your children that shines forth. That is the key to winning the next generation.
Remember the two elderly Jewish ladies who meet? Says Sadie, beaming with pride: ?Mine daughter just married an architect!?
?What?? said Goldie, ?I thought her husband was a lawyer!?
?No, no, that was her second husband.?
?Oy, and what about her first husband?? asked Goldie.
?Oh, he was a big doctor,? said Sadie, smiling from ear to ear.
?Such nachas,? said Goldie, hugging Sadie, ?and all from just one daughter!?
May we always see the good in our children, and may they merit to see peace and the Geula.
Interestingly, Moshe sandwiches these two powerful messages in between dramatic warnings to the people regarding their offspring. First, prior to the Aseret HaDibrot, Ten Commandments, he cautions them not to ?produce sons and daughters who will refuse to follow the ways of G-d.? And then, after the Shema, Moshe gives the little speech that has become a famous part of the Hagada: ?If your child ask you tomorrow what these laws are about... recount to them the story of the Exodus, and tell them that these mitzvot are our mission and what gives us life.?
Moshe, in his great wisdom, is reminding us that Jewish history is a continuum. If our children do not learn to grasp the beauty of Torah, to take our Torah and make it their own, then we will have ultimately failed. All the knowledge, loyalty and allegiance to Hashem that we possess will vanish into thin air unless we can communicate the beauty of a Jewish lifestyle to our kids.
For the simple truth is, we are only as successful as our next generation.
Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, z.l., once commented on the phrase in Shema, ?V?Shinantam l?vanecha, v?dibarta bam? (and you shall teach your children and speak of them). Most people think the ?them? refers to the words of the Torah; i.e., you shall speak of the Torah to your children. But Rabbi Bernstein said the ?them? are the kids themselves. That is, don?t only think you have an obligation to simply teach your kids. You must also speak about them with pride, and be the kind of person who very clearly exhibits a love and acceptance of your children that shines forth. That is the key to winning the next generation.
Remember the two elderly Jewish ladies who meet? Says Sadie, beaming with pride: ?Mine daughter just married an architect!?
?What?? said Goldie, ?I thought her husband was a lawyer!?
?No, no, that was her second husband.?
?Oy, and what about her first husband?? asked Goldie.
?Oh, he was a big doctor,? said Sadie, smiling from ear to ear.
?Such nachas,? said Goldie, hugging Sadie, ?and all from just one daughter!?
May we always see the good in our children, and may they merit to see peace and the Geula.