Schooled in Torah
A Jewish man once confided that he lived with a gentile woman. I was exceedingly pained to hear this. I rebuked him strongly, wondering how children from such a union would turn out.
At my harsh words, the man said, in all innocence, “But, Honored Rav, I wear tefillin and keep Shabbat.”
I was consumed with pity for this poor man and his skewed outlook, which brought him so far from his Creator.
I sadly turned to him, “All of your Shabbat observance and tefillin will not prevent your children from being perfect gentiles.”
“Oh, I never had intentions of bringing them up as complete Jews,” he said, dismissively. “From the start, we agreed to raise our children with both Jewish as well as gentile practices. Ours will be an interfaith home. When they will mature, they will choose their own path.”
I was shocked and dismayed at these words. If our parents had given us free choice as to which lifestyle we wished to embrace, I have no doubt we would have grown up wild animals, lacking any type of restraint, as the pasuk says (Iyov 11:12), “Man is born a wild ass.”
When parents aspire to see children who go in the way of Torah, they must educate them correctly from their youth. And they must constantly pray that they continue in the path they set before them. Even the best education is not a guarantee against the machinations of the Yetzer Hara and the influences of the outside world.
The Torah says (Bereishit 8:21), “The inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” The Yetzer Hara attempts to distance a person from the road of righteousness from a young age. Only complete dedication to the education of one’s children, coupled with prayers for siyata di’Shemaya can vanquish the negativity of the Evil Inclination.
Rav Shach, zt”l, would weep copiously at 8:00 a.m. every morning. When his disciples asked why he cried specifically at this hour, he replied, “This is when hundreds of thousands of Jewish youth are entering their school doors. Many come from pure Jewish homes where Torah values are held in esteem. But many others are far from Torah observance. They have no knowledge of their rich heritage. They have no one to teach them the Kriyat Shema. They are slated to grow up as atheists. For them, I cry.”
- At the grave of the Rosh Yeshiva, Maran HaGaon Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mann Shach, zt”l
How tremendous is the responsibility of parents to educate their youth with no compromise.
