The following discourse was presented at a meeting of the
Committee of Torah Educators in Yerushalayim.
As a matter of course, a person is stimulated to continue
putting efforts into his avodas Hashem only if he
correctly evaluates what he has already done. If he thinks
that his previous earnest attempts are worthless or of minor
significance, he will simply bow out of any further attempts.
Maran the Chofetz Chaim zt'l instructs us that this
sublime principle can be inferred from the tefilloh
that we say directly after vidui.
"We have turned away from Your mitzvos and from Your good
laws but it has not been worthwhile for us." Apparently we
have here only one confession: our disregard for Hashem's
mitzvos has been to no avail.
The Chofetz Chaim, however, explains that there are two
separate confessions: (1) We are misvadeh that we have
turned away from the Torah's mitzvos and laws. (2) We do not
accurately value the good that we have achieved, such as our
advancement in Torah study, our feelings of spiritual uplift
during tefilloh, our helping others in dire need and
our developing good character traits.
Torah educators of young boys and girls must be mindful of
the supreme importance of their work, the fruitful benefits
in its wake, and consequently its weighty responsibility.
They must be aware that their avodoh is "worthwhile
for us" and they must carry on this work with even more
enthusiasm.
I wish to take this opportunity to accentuate how Chazal
understand what is the award in this and the next world for
mechanchim, and will cite concisely certain invaluable
points to encourage them in their productive work.
1) "The wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament,
and those who teach righteousness to the multitudes will
shine like the stars, forever and ever" (Doniel 12:3).
HaRav Yitzchok Blazer ztvk'l, one of the foremost
talmidim of Maran Reb Yisroel Salanter the founder of
the Mussar Movement, in his kuntrus called
Kochvei Or (annexed to the Or Yisroel), writes
that this mitzvah of bringing virtue to many (zikui
horabim) is so outstanding, that its righteousness is
eternal. Being involved in it, rewards one with sechar
not only in Olom Hazeh but also in Olom Habo,
and the reward in this mundane world doesn't subtract from
one's reward in the World to Come, unlike the case with other
mitzvos.
Zikui horabim is a type of kiddush Hashem which
is diametrically opposed to chillul Hashem. Just as
the sin of chillul Hashem cannot be atoned for even
through the most severe suffering in This World except by
dying, Rachmono litzlan, or by meriting that Hashem
helps one to publicly sanctify His Torah, so too -- in an
opposite sense -- concerning kiddush Hashem: all the
material benefits in Olom Hazeh cannot possibly
detract from one's reward in Olom Habo.
Who are the present-day mezakei horabim if not those
Torah educators who, day after day and hour after hour, teach
Torah and yiras Shomayim to their young
talmidim? Surely, their righteousness "will shine like
the stars forever and ever."
2) The gemora (Bovo Metzia 85a) writes: "Even
if HaKodosh Boruch Hu has imposed a harsh decree, He
will annul it for anyone who teaches Torah to the son of an
am ho'oretz, as is written, `If you take out an
honorable man from a glutton (meaning a rosho--see
Rashi)' (Yirmiyohu 15:19)."
The Maharsha explains the connection between teaching a son
of an am ho'oretz and annulling a gezeiroh of
HaKodosh Boruch Hu: It is quite natural that someone
born to a person ignorant of Torah will also lack any
aspirations to excel in Torah study and consequently will
also be deficient in Torah knowledge. "Every creature gives
birth to what is similar." That boy is as if "decreed" to
remain an am ho'oretz like his father. If, however,
some compassionate person devotes himself to teaching that
boy Torah and, because of his unrelenting efforts and
devotion to his talmid, he succeeds in instilling
within him sound and comprehensive Torah knowledge, he is
annulling the gezeiroh on that boy to remain an
ignoramus. Surely, it is fitting to annul a gezeiroh
for such a dedicated person who annuls gezeiros on
others, as Rashi (in Yirmiyohu, ibid.) writes, "I
(i.e., HaKodosh Boruch Hu) make a gezeiroh and
you annul it."
People look desperately for special segulos to annul
gezeiros that have, chas vesholom, been decreed
upon them. This abovementioned gemora clearly tells us
a precious segulah. Torah mechanchim have, more
than anyone else, the opportunity to annul the
gezeiroh of being amei ho'oretz on such
children, to alter their nature, to implant in them a desire
to study Torah, and to make them into real bnei
Torah.
In school, we deal with all levels of talmidim,
including those to whom the Maharsha refers. If we succeed in
these opportunities, undoubtedly Hashem will also annul
decrees against us. This is yet another blessed aspect of our
sacred avodoh in chinuch of children to Torah
and yiras Shomayim.
Of course, the above is easier said than done. We must
contend with this challenge on two spheres: 1) Successfully
stimulating the talmid. 2) Diagnosing correctly the
student's learning problems. Let us explain one at a time.
*
First of all, how do we stimulate a talmid? How do we
wake him up from his intellectual slumber?
Just as the body calls for its material pleasures, so too a
person's mind craves intellectual matters, the learning of
which give it pleasure. The body and the intellect are alike
in this sense. If you give one's intellect the stimulation it
desires, it demands more and more of that same stimulation
because it derives a keen spiritual pleasure from it and
naturally yearns for more.
A child detests being bored, of studying tedious, dull and
uninteresting subject matter. It "drives him crazy." He
insists upon something novel, a chidush of some sort,
whether encountering something thought-provoking, or meeting
fascinating people or going to see some intriguing new place
that he never visited and seeing, hearing or doing anything
there that will pique his curiosity. If we give him this
chidush, he will hunger for more and more of the
same.
This quest for spiritual stimulation is an innate force in a
person's soul and it is especially prevalent among
adventurous young children who are particularly eager to
explore the unknown and the unfamiliar.
Here are two examples of teaching gemora in a way that
rouses talmidim to heightened interest in the subject
after they understand the novelty in what is being taught:
1) After Reuven's bull gored Shimon's bull and killed it, the
value of the carcass is deducted from the amount that Reuven,
the mazik, must pay to Shimon, the damaged party --
see Bava Kammo 10a-10b. If the carcass devaluates
before the case is presented to beis din (ha'amodoh
ledin), there is initially a difference of opinion in the
gemora if the nizak has to bear the difference
and we continue to estimate the loss according to the higher
original value of the carcass, or perhaps the mazik
loses out and we calculate the loss according to the present
worth of the carcass, which is lower. What can be the
explanation to this machlokes?
Let us talk in exact figures in order to simplify the
explanation. When Shimon's dead bull was alive it was worth
200 shekel and immediately after it was killed its carcass
was worth 100 shekel. Some say that we assess the damage as a
total loss, meaning the full 200 shekel value of the original
live bull. The dead bull is simply part of the compensation
for the damage. If that is how we approach the case, then if
the carcass is later worth only 50 shekel when the case is
decided, the mazik is only then paying 50 shekel
towards the 200 shekel damage and therefore he must add
another 150 shekel.
It is, however, possible to assess the original loss to the
owner as being the original value of his bull minus the
immediate residual value of the carcass at the time of the
damage. If so, the mazik only has an original
obligation of 200 shekel less 100 shekel, meaning 100 shekel.
Even if the carcass goes down to only 50 shekel before the
case is presented to beis din, that has nothing to do
with the mazik since he only caused a damage of 100
shekel in the first place.
*
It is an established rule that if someone admits to being
obligated to pay a fine (knas) he is exempt from
paying it (Kesuvos 34a). The gemora (Bovo
Kammo 74b) presents a machlokes whether this
exemption from paying the fine applies even if witnesses
afterward came to obligate him, or if it only applies as long
as no witnesses came forward. According to this, after
witnesses come he must pay just as if he never admitted to
the fine.
This machlokes can be explained as follows: Why does
his admission exempt him? Is it because his admission is
regarded as a form of payment? If that is the explanation, he
cannot be obligated to pay the fine again at any time since
he has already "paid" it.
On the other hand, it may be that he is exempt after his
admission only because a person cannot make himself culpable
for a fine. If there are no witnesses, he just need not pay a
fine based only on his own testimony. If so, if witnesses
ever come, he must then pay the fine.
There are numerous examples like the above of analytic
distinctions written by the Acharonim that motivate young
talmidim to think and to try to analyze what they have
studied. By teaching them these chidushim we can
inculcate our young talmidim with love for Torah
learning.
* * *
How do we accurately diagnose the underlying cause of
learning problems? I read in the Niv HaMoreh an
article written by my dear acquaintance HaRav Nosson Einfeld,
formerly the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Beer Sheva, in which he
expounds precious principles in chinuch, axioms that
we must always keep in mind.
He cites an anecdote involving HaRav Moshe Aharon Stern,
zt'l who later served as the mashgiach of
Kaminitz Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. HaRav Stern was once
surprised by a visit of HaRav Eliyahu Lopian, zt'l
(who then served as mashgiach in the yeshiva of Kfar
Chassidim) to his home. HaRav Lopian unexpectedly visited his
talmid's dilapidated house and found wet walls and
children coughing and shivering from the cold weather. HaRav
Lopian had resolved to visit, when he noticed that his
talmid was missing a few days from the yeshiva, and he
decided that he must see him to find out why.
After seeing obvious signs of abject poverty in HaRav Stern's
house, and learning personally of his talmid's hand-to-
mouth existence, he immediately instructed him to utilize his
blessed talents and become a mashgiach in Kaminitz
Yeshiva of Yerushalayim.
HaRav Eliyahu Lopian said that every hospital patient has an
emergency button near his bed. When the patient feels he
needs something urgently, he presses that button and a light
turns on at the nurses' desk indicating that this patient is
calling for help. That, however, does not necessarily mean he
will be immediately helped or even be helped at all. If the
nurse doesn't look at the light, his pressing on that call
button is to no avail. Likewise, even if the nurse sees it
but pays no attention to it and continues reading a good book
or chattering with her friends, the patient will continue to
suffer. If the nurse comes over, but she just rebukes him for
pestering her and doesn't ask what is bothering him, the poor
patient has no hope.
What the nurse should really do, is to hasten over to the
patient, find out what is bothering him and help him. Only
then will the call button fulfill its raison
d'etre.
HaRav Moshe Aharon Stern, zt'l, the mashgiach
of Kaminitz, concluded: "A yeshiva student and even a
kollel student sometimes broadcasts distress signals,
but unfortunately many times no one notices them. When I
didn't come to the yeshiva for a day or two, the Mashgiach
sensed the signals right away. So he came to my house, saw
what the reason was, entered the picture and obtained for me
a position as a mashgiach."
This applies also to us, to those who are zocheh to be
mechanchim. We must comprehend how important it is to
diagnose a talmid, to analyze the progress in his
studies, in his yiras Shomayim, in his middos
tovos and in his behavior with peers, mentors and
teachers. If the result of our diagnosis is favorable, we
must motivate him to elevate himself even more. If,
choliloh, we find that the talmid has deviated
from what we think he can be according to our evaluation, we
must pay attention to the emergency signal. We must discern
where the signs of distress are coming from, react
immediately and try to find a viable solution.
Also, parents must pay attention to what is happening with
their children, the precious neshomos that were
entrusted to them. They must be attentive to any call from
the emergency button, grasp what is bothering their precious
children and seek reliable advice as to how to rectify their
problems. If everything is, boruch Hashem, proceeding
well, they must spur them to continue in their way.
The Chovos HaLevovos (Sha'ar Yichud HaMa'aseh
chap. 5) writes that we must put to good use every success
over the yetzer hora and correctly realize the value
of such an achievement. "You should esteem highly any
success, no matter how minor, in overcoming [the
yetzer] and regard with respect even a slight gain
over him, so that it will serve as a step to rise even
higher."
May Hashem help us always to have the privilege of being
mezakei horabim through teaching Torah and to have our
talmidim and children "shine like the stars, forever
and ever" and bring immense honor to their parents and
educators.
HaRav Yehoshua Shklar served for decades as the Head
Supervisor for Torah Studies in the Chinuch Atzmai
Movement.
