Jewish education

"How Goodly are Your Tents O' Jacob?"

Targum Jonathan, the Aramaic translation of the Torah, says that Bilaam saw the schools of the Jewish people and was moved to say: "How goodly are your tents O' Jacob?" The "number one" priority in Jewish life is to ensure that committed Jews remain committed. There is no better way of ensuring that commitment, than by providing outstanding intensive Jewish education for our children. If we fail to do so, then our Jewish future is in jeopardy.

"The Secret of Jewish Survival in Exile?"

From Jacob's plans to bring his family to Egypt to be with his long-lost son Joseph, we learn a profound lesson about Jewish continuity. Jacob sees to it that the people of Israel will be securely ensconced in Goshen, the suburb of Egypt, that is to be their new home. What Jacob regards as essentials for the survival of his family in his day, are truly timeless needs that Jews must meet in every one of the lands that Jews call home.

"The Seven Protective Divine Clouds"

According to the Midrash, the Jewish people were protected in the wilderness from the elements and from enemy attack by seven clouds. Though it is often hard to believe, the Jewish people today are similarly cared for in exile. G-d indeed shields them, but Jews must do all they can to look after their own well-being.

"Watch Out for Laban, He is More Dangerous Than Pharaoh"

As part of the Bikkurim declaration, the celebrants stated that "An Aramean tried to destroy my father." The Torah thus sees the Aramean, Laban, as more dangerous than Pharaoh. The fact that Pharaoh wants to do us in is well known, so we can protect ourselves. Our brother Laban, however, the wily Aramean, is always out there waiting for us, feigning love, conspiring to defeat us. We need always be on watch for him.

"Ma'aser Shay'nee, the Second Tithe"

From their earliest days of nationhood, the Jewish people understood that Jewish education was to be the peoples' foremost concern and should be their primary charitable priority. The donations of Ma'aser Shay'nee, the second tithe, were to be used or redeemed in Jerusalem, which served as a spiritual center and educational hub of Israel-in effect affirming the primacy of Jewish education.

"The Mandate for Parental Involvement in Jewish Education"

The phrase "V'shee'nan'tahm l'vah'neh'chah" and you shall teach your children, found in the Shema, underscores the Torah's mandate requiring Jews to educate their children. There is no such thing as overdosing on Jewish education, or being too zealous or too extreme about Jewish education. Parents must not compromise on Jewish education. The alternative is very much Jewish oblivion.

"The Not-So-Obvious Process of Enslavement"

When the sons of Jacob and their families arrive in Egypt, they are sent to live separately from the Egyptians in the land of Goshen. Nevertheless, Pharaoh and the Egyptians are threatened by them and decide to deal wisely with the Jews, eventually resulting in the Hebrews' brutal enslavement. How was Pharaoh able to convince the Egyptian citizens to enslave the Jews, descendants of Joseph, who, less than 100 years before, had saved all the Egyptian people from starvation?

"Giving Our Disciples a Firm Grounding"

Because the Torah uses the unusual expression, "B'ha'a'lot'cha," when you raise up and kindle the candelabra, our rabbis learn that the priests were to light each new candle in the menorah until the flame of the new candle was able to rise on its own. This unusual expression is meant to serve as a message to teachers and mentors who are instructed to train and encourage their disciples to stand on their own feet, providing them with multiple educational and religious experiences in order for them to become healthy disciples, rather than mere sycophants.

"The Risks of Being a Public Figure"

The Torah announces: "These are the offspring of Aaron and Moses," but only lists the offspring of Aaron. From this textual nuance we learn that those people who are not blessed with biological children can still be spiritual parents, like Moses was to Aaron's children. It also underscores the great challenge facing public figures to balance their own lives with the needs of the community.

"Remembering Amalek: A Contemporary View"

Jewish tradition looks upon those who seek to destroy the Jewish people as the heirs of the ancient Amalekites, the fierce nation that was the first to attack the people of Israel, especially the elderly, weak and the young after the exodus from Egypt. While remembering Amalek is important, rebuilding and guaranteeing the Jewish future is far more important.

"Commitment to Judaism: A lesson from Moshe"

"Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I will have sown will never be uprooted." Thus spoke the communist leader, V.I. Lenin. Could it be that Moses's formative rearing at the hands of his mother Yocheved and sister Miriam made the difference? It is highly probable that his early childhood experience, supplemented by his stepmother Bitya's effective rearing, leads to Moses's exalted sense of Jewish identity and his emergence as a great Jewish leader.