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11 Nissan 5761 - April 4, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family
Teaching Love of Torah to Children

by Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein

We are presenting an essay on enhancing the love for Torah and increasing our awareness of it in our daily lives, broken up into small weekly sections that lead up to a climax, the receiving of the Torah on Shavuos.

Part I

Ultimately, the reason we live, work, marry, have children and interact with other people is to improve ourselves and spread knowledge and love of Hashem to all. As people who live our lives according to the Torah, this is what we believe, and attempt to do.

Technically, this translates into our keeping the mitzvos, being careful that we and those around us do not sin, sending our children to good yeshivos, listening to Torah tapes, attending shiurim whenever we can, doing chessed whenever we can, and trying not to disturb or discourage our husbands or sons when they wish to learn Torah.

These are all vital elements for living a Jewish life, and, I believe, provide the floors, walls, pipes and foundations of a Torah home.

But I sometimes wonder: am I also decorating my home with Torah furnishings as well?

Yes, of course it is important that all artwork on the walls have kosher Jewish content. And, yes, it is, of course, important that secular reading materials not be strewn around the home lest I and my children might think that reading them, chas vesholom, is an acceptable part of life.

But I'm actually talking about something else: I'm wondering about the extent to which I inculcate a real love of Torah, and a respect for it, in myself, my family and amongst those around me. On a daily level, in my daily speech, and through my daily activities. Because this perhaps is the essence of Torah, and part of the guarantee that it will remain a vibrant part of our lives and the lives of those around us, rather than, chas vesholom, just something which we intellectually know keeps the world running, but which we actually see as a "thing" that children and men go off to do for a few hours each day.

I believe that this really deep, abiding, conscious love for Torah, and this respect for Torah, can only be ingrained in ourselves and in others by channeling it into becoming the focus of our daily lives in every way. By being sure that we refer to Torah thoughts in our daily speech, by noticing when and how we can incorporate additional talk about Torah into our daily lives, and by being aware of how our behavior and the behavior we allow others to demonstrate around us reflects our attitude towards, and demonstrable love for, the Torah.

Pointing out a beautiful tree to a child is important but it becomes a building block for a love of Hashem and His Torah when we elaborate on it by specifying the miracle of it, and that this beauty was created by Hashem especially for us to enjoy. Let this be our walking-to-the-grocery talk, rather than silence or plans of what we will wear tomorrow.

When stepping into the elevator with a neighbor's child, instead of, or in addition to, asking, "How is your new baby brother doing?" can we not ask, "Did you learn something interesting today in gan/school about the parsha?"

This is showing the child, and ourselves, that we care about Torah, that we are interested in Torah, and that we love Torah. It may feel a little silly or embarrassing to ask such questions at first, but soon the neighborhood kids will get used to it, and remember something to tell. Note: unfortunately, the answer often given seems to be, "We didn't learn parsha today." Responding, "So tell me anything from the Torah, anything you learned recently," will often evoke something, while showing that we are interested in all parts of the Torah. But isn't it sad that someone could even make such a statement as a reason for not having any dvar Torah to say?

To be continued...

 

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