What a first day of school! We were overjoyed to welcome you all back into school yesterday. We were so excited to see all the returning faces and are looking forward to getting to know all of the new students and parents as the year progresses. Thank you so much for entrusting us with your precious children this year. We are humbled at this opportunity to be part of their Jewish journeys.
This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Eikev, is one of Moshe’s most significant and heavy portions of his final efforts to impart his wisdom and guidance to the fledgling nation of Israel as they are on the precipice of their entrance into the Land of Israel. Moshe continues to hammer home his theme that if the Jewish people follow in Hashem’s pathways and teaching, if they actively sanctify themselves by creating intentional boundaries from the pagan nations around them, they will be rewarded with Hashem’s guidance, support, protection and ultimately a smooth transition into inheriting the land of their forefathers.
I would like to turn our attention to the very end of this week’s parsha.
וְלִמַּדְתֶּ֥ם אֹתָ֛ם אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְדַבֵּ֣ר בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃
And you shall teach your children to speak when you are sitting in your house, when you are traveling along the way, when you lay down to sleep and when you rise in the morning.
- Devarim, 11:19
This is one of the most famous phrases from the second paragraph of the daily Shemah prayer that we say three times a day. Our sages tell us this is the source for a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children are educated in Torah. But is that exactly what it says? The wording says “to speak” not to teach Torah?!
Rashi picks up on this nuance and explains that the moment that our children are able to speak we are to begin to teach them that Torah was commanded to us through Moshe by Hashem. As the Sforno expands that once they can speak we should ensure that they are actively engaged and empowered to do mitzvot, the commandments, and that our essence should be founded on these tenets.
This directive is not simply a call to teach our children knowledge and skills. It is much deeper than that. It is imperative to teach our children a way of life that is built on a sturdy foundation of values, ethics and a vision of the world that we are building together with Hashem.
כִּי֩ אִם־שָׁמֹ֨ר תִּשְׁמְר֜וּן אֶת־כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָ֣ה הַזֹּ֗את אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם לַעֲשֹׂתָ֑הּ לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם לָלֶ֥כֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָ֖יו וּלְדׇבְקָה־בֽוֹ׃
If we guard all the commandments that Hashem has commanded us to do, to love Hashem, to walk in His footsteps and to develop a deep connection with Him.
- Devarim, 11:22
How do we truly impact children in a deep, intentional manner? How do we reach children in a manner that will leave an everlasting impact on them? It is not by simply teaching knowledge and skills (which are important). It is through the intentionality of relationship building that we are able to create a community of connection, of deep care where every member has a vital role to contribute to the whole.
One of my favorite education leaders, Rita Pierson, shares this notion in her world famous Ted Talk titled Every Kid Needs a Champion. In her final lines of her talk she states:
“Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” Rita understood, as Hashem lays out for us in this week’s parsha, that learning is built off of real, meaningful, student focused relationships.
We are ecstatic for this new year. A year where we hope to lean into this focus of relationship building with our students, our parent partners, our community partners and our wonderful teachers. We look forward to celebrating all of your children’s growth and development together.