EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN
The gaon, Rabbi Yechiel Michal Feinstien spoke before a convention of
educators. He stressed the idea that the tradition of the Torah
includes its commentaries, and the following is an excerpt from his
speech.
One of the main foundations of Torah education is the need for teachers
to draw from the wellsprings of our tradition whose rabbis were like
angels. They should not turn to newly come commentators whose awe of
G-d and kedushah are miniscule, and whose Torah is not in the category
of the potient of life. Although it would seem that new creativity can
make understanding and explanation easier, we must remember that the
commentaries are the fundamental building blocks of the souls of the
impressionable children. The explanations of our rabbis hit the deep
roots of their hearts, the roots stretching towards kedushah, whereas
other commentaries hit other roots.
We must learn according to the traditions that we have from our
fathers' fathers. A Jewish child who absorbs together with his mother's
milk the Five Books with the commentary of Rashi will have absorbed
strong foundations of faith and kedushah. This will not be the case for
those who have missed this elemental foundation.
When students began to arrive in Yeshivat Mir from Germany and America,
the mashgiach, Rebbe Yerucham, began to teach a public lesson in
Chumash with Rashi. He explained that in those countries the chidlren
did not learn with their teachers in the accepted manner, and they were
missing fundamental foundations of faith, whereas the children who had
learned in the old and tried method of the cheder were immersed in
Chumash with Rashi. The deficiency of the chidlren from Germany and
America was obvious in their manners and in their understanding of
Torah on all levels. Therefore, he wanted to make up for their
deficiency.
This learning that we are talking about sanctifies and purifies a
child. It cleanses his mind and heart, and imbues his blood with the
roots of faith and true Judaism. Furthermore, it sharpens a child's
mind, and prepares him for the greatness of the Torah. Anyone who
studies the Five Books with Rashi as a child is more prepared as an
adult to study a complicated section of Rambam, or to reveal a true
innovation of the Torah.
I will tell you what a hearty, repentant Jew, the scribe Rabbi Chaim
Lieberman z"l once told. When he was young and studying in a secular
school, he met a religious Jew, a chasid, who was an acquaintance. The
chasid began to browse through Chaim's case where he found books on
science written in Russian and books of philosophy which were
absolutely heretical. Nevertheless, he passed over them in silence
until he came across a Tanach (a Bible) without the commentary of
Rashi. Only then was he taken aback, and he said, "Chaim, there is no
cure for your disease."
Rabbi Chaim concluded, "I did not know how correct he was until I later
saw it with my own eyes."
(Mishel Ha'avot, Ch.1)
