The Importance of Educating Children
Education is the foundation of all good things, and yet teachers who engage in the sacred realm of education do not always receive the honor they deserve.
May we merit expressing the greatness of faithful teachers, and through this may their status be elevated, and their blessed influence, be increased.
First it must be clarified that wherever our Sages said ‘tinokot shel Beit Rabban’ (“the young children of the Torah teacher"), they were referring to children up to the age of responsibility for obeying the Torah commandments. It must also be prefaced that the greatness of female teachers who teach girls Torah and derech eretz (ethical behavior, good manners, and respect for others) is like the greatness of male teachers who teach boys. Female teachers, like male teachers, educate tender children who have not yet tasted the flavor of sin - to be wise and good, and to walk in the ways of God.
Faithful Teachers Are Similar to the Stars in Heaven
Great responsibility rests upon Jewish teachers. The spiritual future of the Jewish people depends upon them, and consequently the future of the entire world, as the medieval Spanish-Jewish poet and philosopher Rabbi Judah Halevi said in his classic work ‘Kuzari’: “Israel among the nations, is like the heart among the limbs".
Therefore, teachers must do their work faithfully, teaching their students with love and joy, clear and precise words of Torah, and always thinking about how to advance them in Torah and good character.
And if they merit doing so, of them it is stated: “Those who bring many to righteousness shall be like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). As our Sages expounded: “‘And the wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament’ - these are judges who render true judgment and charity collectors; ‘and those who bring many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever’ - these are the teachers of young children" (Bava Batra 8b).
And of the great Torah scholars it is stated: “But those who love Him shall be like the sun going forth in its might" (Judges 5:31) - for they are like the source of light from whose power the teachers, who are compared to stars, teach their students (Maharal, Netiv HaTorah 10).
Like Gardens Along a River
Our Sages said that the teachers of young children - meaning those who teach children up to the age of commandments, twelve for girls and thirteen for boys - together with the great rabbis, maintain the Torah among the Jewish nation, and of them it is stated: “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel. Like streams that spread out, like gardens along a river" (Numbers 24:5-6).
Our Sages explained (Tanna Devei Eliyahu 19) that the tents of Jacob are the houses of study that purify Israel, and therefore they are compared to streams in which one can immerse. And the teachers of young children are compared to “gardens," as it is stated: “‘Like gardens along a river’ - these are the teachers of young Jewish children, who bring out from their hearts wisdom and understanding, knowledge and intelligence, and teach them to fulfill the will of their Father in heaven."
Just as gardens grow all kinds of good fruits, so teachers cultivate in their students good and correct understandings.
Therefore, the reward of teachers is very great, as our Sages said: “In the future the Holy One, Blessed be He, will sit in judgment over them, and He will place a Torah scroll in His bosom and say: Let all who engaged in this come and receive their reward, as it is stated (Isaiah 33:18): ‘Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?’ ‘Where is the scribe’ - these are the teachers of young children for the sake of heaven; they shall come and receive their reward…" (Midrash Proverbs 16:11).
Who Are the “Guardians of the City"
Our Sages stated in the Jerusalem Talmud: “Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught: If you see towns uprooted from their places in the Land of Israel, know that they failed to pay the wages of scribes and teachers of Mishnah, as it is stated (Jeremiah 9:11-12): ‘Why has the land perished and been laid waste like a desert with none passing through? And the Lord said: Because they forsook My Torah'" (Chagigah 1:7). Scribes are those who teach Scripture, and teachers of Mishnah are those who teach Mishnah - that is, halakha.
It is further told there in the Jerusalem Talmud that Rabbi Yehudah the Prince (the grandson of Rabbi) sent the Amoraim Rabbi Chiyya, Rabbi Assi, and Rabbi Ami to pass through the towns of the Land of Israel to verify that in all of them there were teachers who taught Scripture and halakha. They came to one place and found there neither a Scripture teacher, nor a halakha teacher.
They said to the people of the place: Bring before us the “guardians of the city." They brought before them the “city guards" - the guards responsible for the city’s security and administration. They said to them: Are these the guardians of the city? These are none other than the destroyers of the city! For they did not care for the city properly. They asked: And who are the “guardians of the city"? They answered: The teachers of Scripture and halakha, as it is stated: “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalms 127:1).
A City Without Teachers for Its Children
Our Sages said: “Any city in which there are no ‘tinokot shel Beit Rabban’- it is destroyed," and some say “it is placed under a ban" (Shabbat 119b).
That is, if the residents of the city are unwilling to provide for the Torah education of the children, the residents of other communities must place them under a ban, until they hire teachers, and establish a learning framework for the children. And if they persisted in their stubbornness and did not do so, it is fitting for it to be destroyed, and its inhabitants scattered among other communities, for there is no place in Israel for a community that does not teach Torah to its children (Rambam, Tur Beit Yosef, Yoreh De’ah 245:7).
However, in practice, if there is the power to destroy the city, it is already easier to establish a school in it - therefore, the expression “it is destroyed" was intended to convey how severe the matter is, even though in practice, there was no case in which a city was destroyed because it lacked Torah education for children.
An Example of a Faithful Teacher - Rav Shmuel bar Shilat
As an example of a faithful teacher of young children, the Gemara (Bava Batra 8b) cited Rav Shmuel bar Shilat. Once the great Amora Rav saw Rav Shmuel bar Shilat resting in a garden at an hour when it was customary to teach. He asked him: “Have you abandoned your faithfulness?!" Have you left behind the faithfulness with which you were accustomed to teach your students with devotion?! He replied that he still stood at his post as a teacher, and this is the first time in 13 years that he had needed to rest a little in the garden, and even now as he rested, his mind was on his students, thinking about how to advance them.
Teachers Can Merit the Very Best Lives
It is worth noting that when our Sages (Ketubot 62a) sought to give an example of a person whose life is good and tranquil, and who, therefore, is able to live with his wife with extra joy (‘Tayalim’ or “promenaders", men of leisure), they gave as an example Rav Shmuel bar Shilat. They explained that his livelihood is secure since he teaches faithfully; and it is comfortable, since he does not need to travel great distances like a merchant or do physically exhausting labor; and he has no concerns from the authorities that they might impose heavy taxes upon him - as they were accustomed to impose on landowners and businesspeople - since his livelihood is modest.
Likewise in Our Times
Similarly in our times, teachers who are suited to their role, do their work faithfully and with love, have a secure livelihood, and their lives are modest, comfortable, and good, and they can raise their families with joy and love. This is on condition that they are suited to teaching and succeed in leading the classroom, and on condition that they are happy in the great privilege that has fallen to their lot - to educate the children of Israel.
If they fulfill these two conditions, first and foremost, they merit being happy, as our Sages said: “Who is wealthy? One who is content with his portion" (Avot 4:1) - for the purpose of wealth is the joy and satisfaction a person has in his life. Through this, they will also merit material well-being, for one who is content with his portion does not squander his money on unnecessary things, and so a modest salary yields a good life, as does a generous salary.
Like Priests and Levites
Teachers today fill the role of the Cohanim and Levites, for the primary role of the Cohanim and Levites was to teach Torah to Israel, and today teachers are the ones who teach Torah to the children of Israel, and thereby continue the heritage of Israel to the next generation.
Just as the Torah gave the Cohanim and Levites special commandments and special prohibitions that expressed their sacred role, so too, it is fitting for teachers to express the holiness of their mission through noble conduct - giving honor to every person, refraining from gossip and slander, and beautifying their observance of the commandments, while being careful about prayers and blessings.
It Is Fitting for Teachers to Be Content with Their Portion
It is fitting for teachers to be content with their portion, for they merit engaging in glorious, sacred work. And even though they do not merit the highest salaries, they merit nurturing the children of Israel to be wise and good, educating them in proper conduct and good deeds, and raising them in Torah and the commandments.
The Cohanim and Levites did not receive portions of land, and therefore, did not participate in economic competition, and did not try to become wealthy. By virtue of this they were able to focus on their sacred role - to teach Torah to Israel, to add kindness and peace, and to uphold the law. Like them, teachers too should serve as an example and a model, as people of values who do not crave wealth, whose lives are good and happy by virtue of the good they bestow upon their students.
As a result, the Torah and values they teach will accompany their students until old age and ripe years. Our Sages said: “Come and see how beloved is the Torah before the Holy One, Blessed be He, for through it a person merits the life of the World to Come, and one who teaches Torah to others - more than all of them… and his dwelling is with the Divine Presence, and this is what Rabbi Shimon said when he went to see young men in the place of their study: I am going to see the face of the Divine Presence" (Zohar Chadash, Lech Lecha 42a).
The Clothing of Teachers
Even the clothing of teachers must represent the great heritage they are to bequeath to their students, as the Torah established special garments for the priestly service. Therefore, it is fitting that their clothing be handsome and dignified - neither slovenly, nor ostentatious. Our Sages said: “Any Torah scholar on whose clothing a stain is found - he deserves death, as it is stated (Proverbs 8:36): ‘All who hate Me love death'" (Shabbat 114a). That is, when someone who represents the Torah walks in soiled clothing, he desecrates God’s name, and causes people to despise the word of God. All the more so, when a teacher acquires a bad reputation for having committed serious transgressions.
In the laws of modesty too, teachers must be careful that their clothing represents the halakha in a beautiful manner, so that no one can criticize them for failing to represent the Torah. On the other hand, they should take care that their appearance is clean, attractive, and dignified, so that students do not mistakenly think that those who cleave to the Torah suffer.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
