Educational Insights from Parashat Vayakhel — Transmitting and Instilling Values from a Young Age: How?

When the construction of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva was completed, after six years of blood and sweat during which HaGaon Rabbi Meir Shapiro zatzal traveled throughout the world to raise funds for it, he asked that the following verse be inscribed on the façade of the building: “לכו בנים שמעו לי יראת ה' אלמדכם” — “Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Hashem.”

When he was asked why he chose this verse, he replied that seemingly it should have said, “Come, children” — draw near, and then you will hear. But King David chose specifically to say “Go,” because only when one goes away and becomes distant can it be seen whether he truly heard. The main point and essence of a person’s learning within the walls of the yeshiva is that the teachings should be absorbed and embedded in his soul in such a way that even when he leaves the walls of the beit midrash, he will act with those very same insights just as he does when he is within the walls of the yeshiva.

Transmitting a path is undoubtedly a broad, comprehensive, and profound field, but we can give one example of this value as parents and educators.

Engraving a Straight Foundation in the Service of Hashem in the Hearts of the Youth

Without doubt, one of the most necessary foundations in the world of children and adolescents is “instilling values,” and of course this must be done by transmitting a true and inner path, not merely through external activation or imitation.

Recently, I spoke with several boys from a yeshiva ketana regarding the Jewish perspective one should have toward the acquisitions of this world, and that conversation produced an insight in one of the boys that greatly calmed him.

I will share the gist of the matter briefly.

A Perspective on “Acquisitions of Torah”!

Let us contemplate and see that the Torah defines a person’s land or house as an “achuzah,” a holding or inheritance, as it says (Bereishit 48:4): “וְנָתַתִּי אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֲחֻזַּת עוֹלָם” — “And I will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.” This is not incidental, because a person feels that he “holds” the thing and that it is his!!! This feeling affects him and his soul in the service of Hashem.

An “achuzah” is the land to which a person holds fast; it is his acquisition, and he bequeaths it to his family after him.

In the law of ascending to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals, there is a halachah that anyone who owns land in Eretz Yisrael is obligated to ascend to Jerusalem on the three festivals, whereas one who does not own land is not obligated to do so. Why?

Our Rabbis explain that one who owns land feels a kind of self-confidence that attributes matters to himself, as if to say: I did it! I toiled! I created it! It is mine! I am the capable one! In the sense of “achuzah” — I “hold on to my land,” and so on. Therefore, the Torah comes to negate this feeling and obligated him to ascend for the pilgrimage festival, lest he, Heaven forbid, forget the blessed Creator, “for He is the One Who gives you strength”; and when he ascends to the Temple, he will set his heart to contemplate Who gave all these things. However, one who does not own land, and therefore does not feel that he has a holding of his own, is not obligated in this, because his trial in this matter is entirely different.

We have learned that the more a person’s acquisitions in material possessions increase, the stronger his attachment to his “holding” becomes, and consequently he will need to work on himself more and more.

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One must know that the yetzer introduces many fantasies into a person, and its methods of operation are built upon much imagination.

It is known in the name of those who understand the powers of the soul that those who are drawn after the desires of their hearts and do not withstand temptations eventually become downcast. Why?

Because, in truth, attaining the anticipated object is only four percent, while all the rest (96%) is imagination alone.

It is related about Maran HaGaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zatzal that when his close associates once suggested that he come to Switzerland to see beautiful sites and breathtaking landscapes, he replied that there was no need, since from time to time he closes his eyes and imagines what those places look like, and that is enough for him.

The world is indeed governed by the providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, but matters are not always visible to our eyes. The word olam, “world,” is related to he’elem, “concealment.” The most significant things in the world are hidden from us. It conceals and hides from us the pure inner truth for which it is intended: what is the purpose for which it was created? What are the goals? Where is the true place of the material? What does the blessed Creator truly want us to do with it? What is the purpose of our existence here on earth? And more...

This is an inseparable part of the very essence of a person’s service here in the world of action: to see everything around us and to know how to use everything around us solely as a serving tool and a means for the service of Hashem, while at the same time not sinking into it and not truly taking hold of it.

This, in brief.

After hearing these words, one of the boys approached me and thanked me emotionally; it was evident that he was speaking from the depths of his heart.

The next day, he approached me again and related that the words had helped him greatly, because he lives within a family of means, in which many family members have significant financial opportunities, whereas he was born to parents whose financial situation was not as he had wished and still wishes it to be. Yet the words he heard gave him an additional and genuine layer of understanding regarding the perspective a Jew should have toward the acquisitions of this world, and now he feels calmer and more at peace.

We have learned how greatly the transmission of values and foundations from a young age becomes embedded in a person’s consciousness and heart, creating proper and calming balances for the soul.

Rabbi Michael Zacharyahu

Spiritual director at the Torat David Yeshiva Gedolah and chairman of the Legyono Shel Melech organization