Every mother and grandmother treasures them -- the golden
words of innocent Jewish children growing up. Here is one
response to our Aug. 22 request for such treasures. But first
one of ours from our favorite source: the clothing
gemach.
One mother was taking a long time choosing pajamas for her
son. She particularly shied away from sports figures and
other things which the secular world thought proper for
little boys. Wistfully, she turned to us and said, "My four-
year-old asked why they don't have pajamas with
gedolim on them rather than ball players."
*
Chazal compare children to a clean slate with no writing or
erasures on it. Everything we teach them makes a clear and
lasting impression. Then, one day, they begin to tell it back
to us, and the nachas begins.
*
When my son was four years old, he would wrap himself up in
his oversized bath towel and proclaim, "I'm a kohen
giving the brochos."
My friend shares this delicious quip from her five-year-old.
Late one night, he crept into his parents' room and spotted
the digital clock on the nightstand. "Look!" he cried. "Two
sifrei Torah!" The time was 11:11.
*
There are those sticky questions.
"What do I become when I grow up?" my four-year-old asked one
day.
"A daddy," I replied.
"And after a daddy?"
"Then you become a grandpa."
"And after a grandpa?"
"A great-grandpa," I answered, growing a little uneasy at
this line of questioning.
"And after that?"
I thought quickly. "After 120 years, you go to
shomayim and to Gan Eden."
"Hmmm," he thought for a minute. "And then can I come home
again?"
*
As proud as we are to plant them on the Torah path, they are
equally proud to emulate us. When he was five and six, the
only thing our son wanted to be for Purim was a `daddy'. He
wore his father's short sleeved shirt which came down to his
wrists and ankles, jacket, tie and hat. Only the cuffs of his
Shabbos pants were visible over his shoes.
Everyone on the street smiled as this miniature Abba walked
along carrying his shalach monos. He looked so cute,
even little children slipped him candies. But when he saw all
the other boys' oufits, he informed my husband matter-of-
factly, "This isn't a costume. I look like you!"
[A tip for Purim -- if you don't want a miniature Abba
looking too outlandish, why not pick up a boy's jacket only
several sizes bigger at your local gemach?]
*
Their innocence and enthusiasm reflect all our hopes and
dreams. One day my eight-year-old son pointed to the new
pictures of gedolim we had hung on our living room
wall.
"Those people's pictures are on the wall because they learned
Torah," he observed. "Why don't you put my picture up on the
wall? I learn Torah, too!"
Yes, you do, my dear son, and may you continue to grow ever
stronger in yiras Shomayim and avodas
Hashem.
