My Child, My Teacher

The purpose of this blog is to turn the Shabbat table into a learnable-moment. Please print and share.
Happy Birthday shout-out to Shelli! Wishing success to all those starting their school year.

Every couple years I dust off the story of my grandfather's advice.

Since we now have a new generation among us, and since the school year is starting, maybe this is a good time to pass on that legacy to anyone who has an ear to hear it.
 

It was about this time of year, when I was headed off to college for the first time, my grandfather of blessed memory took me aside and said, "I have one word of advice for you for college."

 

I thought, "Fantastic, this is going to be one of those memorable moments that I'll tell my own children about and maybe I'll even blog about it one day (once blogs are invented)!"

 

"One word?"

 

"One word: don't take classes."

 

OK, for starters, that was three words.

But I was far worried about the content of the message than I was about my grandfather's numeracy.

Perhaps this was not a senior moment? Perhaps there was going to be a punchline? 

I waited.

 

And then the punchline came: "Take teachers."

 

"You see," he explained, "You could take the most interesting class with a boring teacher, and learn nothing. And you could take what you think is the most uninteresting class with an excellent teacher, and you'll learn everything."
 

That advice actually made a lot of sense and I'm happy to say that I followed it most of the time in all of the places that I have studied since then. And I continue to do so.

Tomorrow in our home, Goldy and Moshe are hosting a kiddush in honor of Devora Esther. I asked Moshe to share a preview of his planned remarks for the sake of those who cannot make it:

"The Talmud says that our Rosh Hashana prayers should include "anointing God as King". What's the purpose of this? Isn't God ruler of the universe independent of us? Perhaps the idea can be explained by contrasting a king with a dictator. A dictator has just as much power as a king however, he forces himself unto the people and his rulership stays if he enforces it. However, a king is accepted amongst the people as the rightful ruler, and he is coronated by the people. The Jewish People's mission is to bring Godliness into the world - i.e., to honor God the best we can. By declaring God our King we are stating that not only is He the one in exclusively charge but we desire His kingship. This is the greatest way to honor Hashem. Each one of us has the power to turn him from a dictator into a king. Therefore, the blessing I want to give Devora Esther is that she should be such a person - who honors God, who brings Godliness into the world and is always a source of honor to her family and the Jewish People."

To connect Moshe's thoughts to my grandfather's wisdom, here's a question for your table:

When choosing a teacher, does holiness matter, or just knowledge and pedagogy?
Can a child be a teacher?

Shabbat Shalom

PS - Countdown to Rosh Hashana

 

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