Throughout Rosh Hashana, and actually on most Shabbatot, our small shul is, baruch Hashem, filled with children. In truth I have been quite conflicted about this. Do I appreciate the sounds of laughter or crying during Shemoneh Esrei? Is it appropriate for children to be climbing up and down on the bima in their desire to kiss the Torah or play with their toys? Is it sweet to see the little boys with their tzizit flying and the girls in their pretty, frilly shabbat attire? Is shul a place to bring little children? I think my answer can be found in this week’s parsha - but please let me know what you think.
This Shabbat we are going to read Parshat Vayelech. We learn about the very unique mitzvah of Hakhel - the king of Israel was commanded to gather the people of Israel together every seven years at the end of Shnat Shmitta, the end of the sabbatical year, and read the Torah to the entire nation. The passuk (Devarim 31:12) reads- הקהל את העם האנשים והנשים והטף - Anashim, Nashim, V’Taf..The men, the women and the children- of all ages למען ילמדו ויראו את ה’ אלוקיכם - to reaffirm the acceptance of the commandments and to be in awe of Hashem. Our classic commentaries ask - if the men were there and the women were there why was it necessary to command that they should bring the children? The Rambam answers that although the children were minors and not mechuyavim (obligated) in the actual partaking of the Mitzvah, nevertheless, G-d wanted them to share in the privilege of this awesome event. Rashi’s interpretation is that by bringing the children, parents were demonstrating to their children how important Torah values are and thus the parents are deserving of rewards (לתת שכר למביאיהם). Sforno puts another twist to it and says that the reason that the parents were asked to bring the children was to indicate that the older generation was responsible for insuring the religious education of their children. The future of Am Yisrael depends on the education of our children. Halacha provides that even before building a synagogue a community must provide for the education of its children- an obligation that becomes apparent by the fact that even the Taf - even the children, are to be present at the reaffirmation of our covenant with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
I think we can all agree on the importance of a quality Jewish education - one that is built on a foundation of yirat shamayim, Ahavat Torah and Ahavat Chesed. However, education begins in the home first and foremost with the parents. Bringing children to shul is a beautiful idea if we adults are modeling for them behavior that is appropriate for a Makom Kadosh. Our obligation as parents is to transmit our Torah values to our children. We look to our schools to partner with us in this endeavor. So maybe my answer to “is it ok to bring small children to shul?” depends more upon our own behavior and attitude towards davening, mitzvot and chinuch.
This Shabbat is Shabbat Teshuva. The students at Sha’arei Bina took upon themselves individual “kabalot” - resolutions- goals that they will be working on for the year. What kabalah are you taking on?
Wishing everyone a Gmar Chatima Tova and a Shabbat Shalom!
Rochelle Brand, Ed.D
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