"Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem" (Bereishis
6:8).
The Seforno (ibid.) comments that Noach's finding
favor in Hashem's eyes, "is what saved his sons and
daughters. He himself [i.e., his own zechus] was
incapable of saving them but his finding favor in Hashem's
eyes helped them. This is as the posuk writes: `Though
these three men [referring to Noach, Doniel and Iyov -- see
v. 14] were in it, as I live, says Hashem Elokim, they
shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they alone shall be
saved' (Yechezkel 14:16). [Their inability to save
others] is because they did not teach those living in their
times to recognize Hashem as Avrohom, Moshe, Shmuel, and
those like them, did. It is as Chazal (Pesochim 87a)
write that `Eilom [Doniel -- see Rashi, s.v. zu Eilom,
and also Noach and Iyov] were zocheh to study but were
not zocheh to teach.' Likewise Noach, although he
rebuked [his generation] about their corrupt social behavior,
he did not teach them to acknowledge Hashem's existence and
walk in His ways. Although Noach was a complete
tzaddik in what he thought and did, a tzaddik
who perfects only himself can only save himself. If, on the
other hand, someone perfects others too, he is capable of
saving others. In such a case there is hope he will inspire
them to do teshuvoh . . ."
"If tzadikim wish, they can create a world, as is
written: `But your iniquities have made a separation between
you and your Elokim' (Yeshaya 59:2)." Rashi (ibid.)
explains: "If there were not any iniquities there would not
be any separation." Without any aveiros people are
similar to Hashem and can even create worlds!
Chazal have revealed to us a great secret that defines a
Jew's duty in life. It might seem that man should mainly
concern himself about how much he can accomplish in life,
himself -- how much Torah he studies and how many mitzvos he
does.
Chazal, however, have shown us man's real duty: Man must be a
creator. He must be something like his Creator. Man must
endeavor to reach this level and to draw up plans to help
himself be like that. Without any aveiros separating
him from Hashem he can create - - and this is his goal in
life. For this goal man was created!
Although the zenith of being a creator is creating worlds
similar to Hashem, that is its highest level. On the way up
to that lofty summit there are infinite intermediate levels.
Man's foremost task is to attain the essential kinyan
in being a "creator" -- he should be someone who creates.
Now let us think into this a little. Is there a better field
of activity for creating than education? Every educator,
every teacher with his class, experiences excellent
opportunities to create worlds! A teacher creates a whole
world, a new being, a separate creation for every student for
whom he has industriously applied himself to teach Torah and
yiras Shomayim.
If a student is created through this chinuch we can
logically say that the teacher is truly a creator. He is
performing an ex nihilo creation -- yesh
mei'ayin. Someone who is engaged in educating Jewish
children not only has an enormous zechus and will be
well-rewarded as Chazal have written on the posuk,
"And those who turn many to righteousness are like the stars
forever and ever" (Doniel 12:30 -- see Bovo
Basra 8b that this posuk refers to melamdei
tinokos), he essentially becomes a creator himself.
According to his capabilities he materializes the sublime
goal for which he was created and adheres to Hashem's ways.
Compare this with what the Chazon Ish writes in Kovetz
Igros 1:76 in his letters to educators that "one must
exert himself, constantly supervise what he is doing and be
alert in creating a proper person and especially [in
developing] a talmid."
We said a yesh mei'ayin creation. Perhaps the
expression is not precise? No Jewish child is really
ayin (nothing) since immediately when born a Divine
spark is hidden within him. From the posuk, "But
Elokim is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"
(Tehillim 73:26) Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni,
Yirmiyohu 272) expound that HaKodosh Boruch Hu is
the heart of Yisroel. The innermost part of a Jew, the heart
of a Jew's nefesh, is kevayochol HaKodosh Boruch
Hu Himself.
An educator's job is merely to expose the sometimes hidden
and slumbering "spark" from under its external peel and
elevate it from its potential stage to actual activity. He
must blow in it a nishmas chaim. As a result of
revealing that "spark," an elevated proper person will be
created in the future. He will be a yorei Shomayim, a
sholeim, a true ben Torah, and a talmid
chochom.
How can this "spark" be revealed? It cannot be achieved
solely by the negative -- that is, through reproach and
discipline. It must be achieved mainly through inspiring
students' hearts to draw nearer to the Divine radiance and
genuine goodness. The negative "departing from evil" in
chinuch should result from a positive "doing good"
approach. The educator should continually strive to enrich
his talmidim with Torah-oriented feelings and
understanding. He must broaden his student's knowledge in
both the Written and Oral Torah, and fertilize his thoughts
with divrei Torah. The talmid's mind should be
concentrated with pure and firm Torah principles so that he
will be naturally attracted to what is good and sublime, just
like vegetation is drawn towards the sun.
A positive chinuch, one that enriches basic Torah
treasures, serves as a guarantee of an indelible, superb
character.
A proof of the importance of achieving positive
chinuch can be found in what we cited above from the
Seforno about those who were "zocheh to study and were
not zocheh to teach." Although they reprimanded the
people living at their time, that was not considered "to
teach." "Noach, although he rebuked [his generation] about
their corrupt social behavior, did not teach them to
acknowledge Hashem's existence and walk in His ways. Although
he was a complete tzaddik in what he thought and what
he did."
An educator is not one who only warns his talmidim to
refrain from doing undesirable acts and rebukes them when
they do something improper. Someone who shows his students
the right path, who awakens their mind and heart until they
themselves desire to cling to the Torah -- is a real
educator.
The perception among the fortresses of Torah study, the
yeshivos and other centers of Torah study, during the
previous generation was that educators should primarily
devote themselves to developing in students a strong desire --
"Let her breasts satisfy you at all times" (Mishlei
5:19) -- to study Torah.
These chinuch giants would employ all sorts of
educational tactics to stimulate their talmidim's
wisdom in deep Torah studies. They would train them to think
more profoundly, to innovate, to evaluate logical statements,
and to weave intricate edifices to reconcile difficulties and
identify similar schools of thought. After such training, a
talmid enjoys his Torah studies immensely. The time-
proven principle of the Torah disseminators was: a person
once privileged to taste the sweetness of the Torah, one who
truly enjoyed his studies, will never depart from it -- "and
you will be always ravished with her love" (ibid.).
In relation to this subject a Chassidic leader once spoke
about certain methods aimed at rectifying designated bad
character traits, one middoh or another. He said that
in his opinion the emphasis should be on illuminating the
Jewish nefesh until its flame rises by itself and
consumes any bad trait.
He offered a parable to explain this: Two knights who were
disloyal to the king were put into jail and lowered into a
dim pit. Inside the pit they found another prisoner, a
peasant, an ignorant uncouth farmer. When the time came to
feed the prisoners the jailers brought them their food. The
knights used a knife and a fork to eat as they were
accustomed to their whole life, while the third captive ate
like a wild animal without any signs of culture. One knight
decided to teach the farmer some basic manners of proper
eating. However, in the utter darkness that prevailed in the
pit, the farmer could not see anything. He just did not
understand anything the knight taught him. That knight's
efforts were totally in vain. The knight asked for the help
of the other knight in teaching the farmer. He answered:
"While you were fruitlessly trying to explain to him how to
act and what to do, I was trying to find a way to drill a
small hole so that some light would enter the pit. It is dark
here and if just a spark of light would penetrate, the farmer
would himself see how to use the eating utensils."
The lesson this moshol is teaching us is that there is
no benefit of teaching those who walk in darkness to uproot a
certain middoh or bad habit if you do not change their
essence itself. It is preferable to shine a strong light on
them so that they will themselves see what is ruining their
behavior and will understand what they should be wary of.
This is pertinent to our educators too. We must do all that
is necessary so that the brilliant glow of Torah learning
will shine on the talmidim, so that the shadows of
materialism and the external surroundings will withdraw from
them. They will then clutch on to the Torah's eternal spring
and quench their soul's thirst from it. Teachers must find
ways to transform their Tanach, gemora, and
dinim lessons into a lively and appealing subject, to
something the talmidim can derive pleasure and delight
from, so that divrei Torah will taste like honey in
their mouths.
In addition, teachers must devote time and activities to
instill in the youth a love for talmidei chachomim and
arouse within them a desire to continue studying in
yeshivos kedoshos. The concept of "since they are our
lives" must be absorbed by the child. Studying in a yeshiva
must be the life- dream of every child educated by them.
*
I therefore want to outline two "requests" for the teachers.
These are genuine demands that must actually be carried out.
They are desperately needed to improve the quality of our
educational efforts.
1) Educators should again realize their own self-worth. They
should understand they are creating worlds and have been
delegated an exalted duty. The students' parents are relying
on them to succeed in their children's chinuch.
We suffer from a chronic lack of good heads in our field.
Why? This is caused by a teacher's low status in society.
First of all, educators consider themselves of minor
importance and this sets off a reaction so that others regard
them in the same way. In many cases we suffer from a listless
educational effort. Why? Because of the educator's feeling of
despair if he forgets that he has a pivotal task in
fashioning the spiritual image of the next generation.
If there is any task that insures the eternity of Yisroel it
is first and foremost the chinuch of the new
generation to Torah and yiras Shomayim. How suitable
it is that we remember what the Pri Megodim wrote in a letter
to a melameid: "I want to tell you, my dear friend the
eminent melameid, to continue in your work and do not
aspire to false honor. How fortunate is someone who teaches
Torah to talmidim and brings them nearer to avodas
Hashem. How fortunate is someone who teaches children
lesheim Shomayim."
We must institute a revolution in the status and importance
of melamdim in Torah chinuch. Each educator
should be proud and delighted to have such a position. He
must derive great spiritual satisfaction from his work and
this should be apparent in his external appearance too. It is
completely justified that he should serve as a source of
kinas sofrim that will increase wisdom.
2) It is definitely necessary to enhance work ethics. It is
unnecessary to point out that education is essentially
different from other occupations. For example, it should be
remembered that teaching has relatively short on-the-job
hours -- 30 hours of work in a week (221 days of work in a
year) -- in comparison to other professional workers. This is
because it is understood that besides the time a teacher
spends in class, he needs much additional time to think and
study, to enhance his pedagogic methods, to prepare for
classes, to help his talmidim after school hours, and
to continually look for ways to make his lessons more
effective. The work of an educator never ends when the school
bell rings.
Only because of this have those who arranged the schedule for
children given teachers such long vacations. Teachers should
use these times for educational improvement, to attend
lectures and courses (al taharas hakodesh) on teaching
and to put in effort and thought how to promote their
students' achievements. It is extremely doubtful whether a
teacher who uses this vacation time for his personal needs
only, for matters unrelated to chinuch, is acting
properly.
We mentioned one detail above that indeed teaches us a great
deal. A person whose duty is to create worlds, as mentioned
above, cannot free himself by just working "according to the
book." It is essential that he feel an internal link to the
profession he is working in. Chinuch should be his
chief concern and only then is he fitting to receive Heavenly
assistance. The demand to improve work ethics in our camp
certainly has a strong basis. Let us always remember that our
work must be meleches shomayim.
HaRav Tzvi Shraga Grossbard was for many years the General
Director of Chinuch Atzmai
