| |
Children learn best by example – there is no better textbook or laboratory than life. Our attitudes toward others, the desire to perform gemilut hasadim (deeds of lovingkindness) and tzedaka, the interest in attending services, the thirst for knowledge and the quest to make mitzvot a daily part of our lives are formed and reinforced in the home. While we can attempt to foster a love for Judaism, a positive Jewish identity and broaden our students’ perspectives, nevertheless, if it is not in their hearts, all of our cerebral efforts will have minimal impact. If we teach Shabbat yet it is not observed in some way in the home, our efforts are for naught. If we teach kashrut and after dismissal you are going to Burger King, it was for naught. When the lessons from the school conflict with the messages the child receives from the home, there will be confusion, some questioning, and the inevitable adoption of the home standards, which would be expected. No matter the esteem that we hold for the Torah, the practices learned in the home become the child’s personal Torah. We would hope that the gap between the two would be at most limited. It should not be like the advertising campaign for the LIRR – Watch the gap!
Shavuot has the unenviable position of being one of the most ignored holidays. It celebrates the receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt. As an observation, it seems that Simchat Torah, the holiday where we celebrate the concluding of the annual cycle of reading the Torah and beginning that same cycle anew, has become our celebration of Shavuot as well, as thought the two holidays have melded into one. Shavuot does not have the unique features that other holidays have: 1) There is no special prayer recited, unless you include the very difficult Aramaic of the poem Akdamut, which is recited on the first day, or the rarely recited poem Yetziv Pitgam, recited on the second day; 2) there is no special ritual object associated with the holiday beyond reading the Ten Commandments publicly as a part of the Torah reading; 3) there is no special food outside the custom of eating dairy, which can be wonderful if you like blintzes. Shavuot is all about the Torah, and its preciousness in our lives. While that should be sufficient, is it? Attendance at services on Shavuot gives us a different answer. The challenge for all of us is to make Shavuot significant in our lives by making Torah more significant in our lives. By doing so, we give honor and glory to God, the Giver of Torah.
|
