Parshat Emor–Foundations For Child Education

“Hashem said to Moshe: ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say to them… (Vayikra 21:1)’” The Hebrew word used in this pasuk is אֱמֹ֥ר, which our rabbis tell us is gentle terminology. The word is repeated twice in the verse because the Torah wants to teach a fundamental element in child-discipline. Even when we need to repeat ourselves multiple times, we must teach and instruct our children with soft tones.

This teaching is especially appropriate during the Sefirat Ha’Omer, when we recall the great Rabbi Akiva and his students. Rabbi Akiva is the role model of all Ba’aleh Teshuva (those who repent to the point of turning their life around). He was unlearned until the age of forty! However, Rabbi Akiva decided to change his ways after his wife showed him how soft, gently dripping water dented a hard rock. Rabbi Akiva’s wife taught him that if he put in a true and consistent effort to learn Torah, his mind would eventually absorb its teachings. We are told that at that moment Rabbi Akiva set his heart out to master the Torah, no matter how difficult it came at first.

Our sages tell us that we have much to learn from the nature of water. When water falls as rain, it comes down in “soft,” individual drops. This is true in all instances–even the greatest hurricane is made up of many “soft” drops of rain. Amazingly, though water has a characteristic “softness,” it still has the power to penetrate even solid rock! We can learn from this that if we want our words to truly impact others, they must emulate the rain. Our words need to be soft and our language must be gentle, even if it means repeating the same thing over and over.

This is all the more so in regards to our own children. As written in Mishlei: “[the Torah’s] ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths, peaceful (3:17).” If we want our children to take a positive lesson from the Torah, we, as parents, must give it over to them pleasantly. May Hashem bless us so that we merit a true understanding of His Torah, and may we give it over properly to our children and our students.

 By Adam Suionov