Dear Readership, I would like to share with you the words of HaGaon HaRav Aron Feldman Shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva of Ner Yisroel, Baltimore who crystallizes the main crisis facing klal Yisroel in jewish education today…
”……. We live in a microwave generation, short attention span, Internet, ipods, cell phones, etc.. Anything that will not pique a normal, yes! mainstream child’s interest immediately, chances are they won’t. How can we expect a child to appreciate the fact that the Torah is מתוקים מדבש ומנפת צופים תהילים ׳ט – sweeter than honey, and drippings from the combs – if he can’t read a רש׳׳י or translate a פסוק חומש? HOW? WHY? Do we expect him to break his teeth? As the Gemara says ( יגעתי ומאתי תאמין (מגילה ו , so maybe delay teaching him the אלף בית until בר מצוה thereby attaining true עמילות בתורה? How do we expect our children to daven with Geshmak and not be מצות אנשים מלומדה– by rote, if they have no inkling of what the words are talking about?
By not giving a child the proper tools from when he is very young, we are in essence making the תורה which is the מים חיים, the elixir of life, into ר׳׳ל , the מים המררים bitter waters, playing out the following Pesukim :והדגה אשר ביאר —the children that were in the sea of gashmiyus ונלאו – were worn out trying לשתות מים – drink the pure waters of the תורה, so ויחפרו סביבת – they dug around, searching instead מים לשתות -the foreign waters כי לא יכלו לשתות —for they were unable to drink – ממימי היאר -from the waters of ממימי היאר ,due to lack of tools (שמות ז)…….
Unfortunately, how true are his words.
As we are all aware, Klal Yisroel is in a quagmire. There is the tremendous amount of girls and boys who feel disconnected to Yiddishkeit, with a growing number leaving the fold altogether and some unfortunately taking their own lives. The statistics are real! A prominent doctor from a sizable jewish community confided to me that at least one child commits suicide every month, and he said in another city, at least one child from every family is off the derech. In other communities, there are many children that have no school to go to.
Unfortunately the statistics are growing.
כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה
All Klal Yisroel are responsible for one another.
To what extent does this responsibility lie with us?
Perhaps we can look to how the Lubavitcher Rebbe interprets the word ערבים in three ways –
- a) sweet, i.e., every Jew must consider another Jew sweet.
- b) intertwined, i.e., every Jew is intertwined with another Jew; and
- c) mutually responsible; every Jew is responsible for all other Jews.
If you know of anyone who is struggling in their learning, does not want to go to school or has no school/Yeshiva to go to, and feels they would benefit from our life saving programs, please forward our contact information to them.
May we be zocheh to end the spiritual struggles of our precious children and enlighten them with simchas hachayim where they will stand proud to live a life of Yiddishkeit, serving HaKodesh Boruch Hu with happiness.
Wishing you all a k’siva v’chasima tova!
514-739-3629 cell 514-993-5300
Email [email protected]
Profound!
Thank you.
Rabbi Abenson could not have said it better! We live in a world full of distractions. If our children aren’t learning how to learn, how are they supposed to function as true bnei Torah? We must teach our children how to properly learn. Unfortunately today, given the amount of children in the system and lack of direction, this is being heavily overlooked.
We need change!
Kudos for speaking about this incredible issue hidden amongst our finest children.
In a talk to Mechanchim 3 years ago in Jerusalem, Rav Steinman zts”l said, ” Most bochurim who come to Yeshiva Gedola cannot learn poshut peshat in a Gemore, v’oolai b’kollel!” My son was there and he heard him.