Driven Away from Home
An unaffiliated Jew wished to demonstrate his pride in his sixteen-year-old son, who had succeeded on a difficult exam. He bought him a small car which did not require a driver’s license. I asked the man why he did not buy his son a set of tefillin instead.
“I’ll buy him tefillin some other time,” was his offhand response. “Now, I want to show my son that I admire him. I want to give him something he’ll enjoy.”
One Shabbat eve, the boy went out with his new car. The parents went in their car for a night on the town. They lost their way and were surprised to find their son, driving his new car, with a strange girl seated at his side.
“Hey, son!” the surprised father rolled down his window. “What’s the story with your female friend? I give you such a special gift, and this is what you do with it?!”
The boy revved up the engine and shot away from his father, without a backward glance. He traveled to an unknown destination and did not leave behind a trace. The father turned to the police department, but they could not help him, claiming that he was probably hiding out in his girlfriend’s house.
All too often, instead of educating children properly, parents give them weapons of destruction. They give them the ability to do wicked things and then eat their hearts out. With their distorted deeds, they alone are responsible for their children’s downward spiral. It would behoove all parents to be more careful and calculated with their children’s education.
