Weekly Story: It Can Be Given Over

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

As we prepare for Pesach, our children are busy preparing the Mah Nistanah and the insights their melamed/morohs give over in class. I would like to present the following story which I heard this past Shabbos from Rabbi Nissin Mangel sheyichyeh, at the farbrengen in the ksav sofer shul.

Rabbi Avrohom Menachem Nelkin was a melamed for one of the younger grades in the Lubavitch Yeshiva in Montreal. As a chossid he came to the Rebbe’s farbrengens from time to time.

One time, [possibly in a yechidus] the Rebbe told him, “[You should] give over what was discussed here at the farbrengen, to the children in your class.”

Rabbi Nelkin was surprised and responded, “They are extremely young. How can I possibly give over the Rebbe’s deep thoughts to such young boys?”

The Rebbe answered, “If the Aibishter [Hashem] was able to give over his exceptionally lofty Torah to us, one definitely can give over a person’s/our thoughts to our youth.”

So as we prepare for Pesach [and indeed throughout the year], let us find the proper words and methods, perhaps through stories and parables, to give over Chassidus and Nigla in a manner that our children will appreciate and can relate to and understand it.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbe and their chassidim. His newest publication Farbreng With Reb Binyomin Kletzker is now available. He is available to farbreng in your community, and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com

2 Comments

  • tomim

    That’s it?!
    Small question: Rebbe could have simply said that all the lofty ideas of torah are taught to children (which is more direct to the issue instead of lofty ideas of torah taught to adults)?

    • Rabbi Sholom Avtzon

      I believe that this melamed as every melamed of early grades taught on the simple level of pshat.
      So no the children are not taught ruzei diTorah.
      And here the Rebbe was instructing the melamed not to shy away from giving the children a deeper dimension and subsequently appreciation for the Torah.