How early should Jewish education begin? |
Sponsored by Andrew and Lori Kahn with immense joy and pride in honor of
their son Aaron Blake Kahn’s Bar Mitzvah (Aharon Yitzchok): May you always be
guided by the light of the Torah so that you live a long, happy, healthy a
prosperous life. In Parshat Vayelech we learn about the mitzvah of Hakhel, where the king
reads from the Book of Dvarim to the entire nation on the first day of Chol
HaMoed Sukkot following the Shmita (Sabbatical) Year. Dvarim 31:12-13 describes who should attend the Hakhel ceremony: Gather together the people- the men, the women and the small children
and the convert who is in your cities- so that they will hear and so that they
will learn, and they shall fear the Lord your God, and be careful to perform
all the words of this Torah. And their children who did not understand will
hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, all the days that you live on the
land to which you are crossing the Jordan, to possess it. How old are the children who are brought to the ceremony? According to Ramban, they are little children who are nearly old enough
to be educated, not nursing babies. The Talmud, Chagiga 3a teaches that the small children would come in
order to give a reward for those who bring them, meaning babies who don’t even
understand what is going on. We learn from the Hakhel ceremony that the Torah values Jewish education
from a very young age. Today we see that young children gain a strong
foundation in Judaism from attending Jewish preschools. By being encouraged to bring their babies to religious events, parents
are made to feel welcome and not left out of spiritual experiences. Eighteen years ago, I began to teach Mommy and Me Torah study classes in
Jerusalem through Torat Reva Yerushalayim, where new mothers were able to learn
Torah while their babies had the opportunity to socialize, eat, sleep, play and
benefit from a Torah environment. The original group of babies recently graduated
high school and are off to yeshiva, midrasha (seminary), sherut leumi (national
service) and the army. I hope that the first taste of Torah that these children
experienced helped to lead them on a path of commitment to Judaism. It is never too early to start a child’s Jewish education and the
inspiration from those early years can last a lifetime. |