Campus Proofing Our Children

by Rabbi Eli Friedman – Chabad of Calabasas

Ever hear the expression, “The higher they are, the harder they fall”?

Well, “higher education” has taken quite a hard fall.

Or has it?

Does the boorish hatred spewing forth from college campuses spell the shocking failure of the university educational system or the shocking success of that same system?

When you see American students wearing Arafat’s headgear, the answer becomes clear.

In the parlance of Chasidic teachings, a person’s garments are a physical metaphor for his thoughts, words and deeds.

The person is a soul, not just a body. Every person is a unique personality and energy, comprised of ideas and feelings. Those ideas and feelings – vision and passion, if you will – are expressed via only these three tools: thoughts, words and deeds. Since they express the person’s energy, they’re called “garments”, the way clothing fits the person and speaks volumes about them.

The idea that naïve and ignorant American kids would deign to don garments that are the pride of Jew-hating, America-hating terrorists is a sad symptom of a deeper problem: a campus society that encourages reckless abandon and free indulgence in any thoughts, words or deeds a student should desire.

Campuses boast that they are bastions of free speech. Mothers and fathers who invest 18 years raising their child to behave nicely and that “if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything” send the child to college where he or she is told, say whatever comes to your mind.

Mom and dad taught the kid to think positively and not to dwell on unhealthy thoughts. Then they give him to the campus where he’s told that no one can tell him how to think.

The same child whose parents grounded him for a week for pranks he played on the neighbor, and confiscated his phone for a month for using it inappropriately, now finds himself encouraged to “express his feelings” with no inhibition, and to riot and trash his own campus with no consequence.

The child who was scolded for pulling a girl’s ponytail is then sent by his parents to a campus culture where he is applauded for doing far worse. They have sent him to a place where there are literally no limits on his behavior, except the fleeting trends of what the society of relative morality is outraged about that week.

So after a few months, you have a child who has discovered that he or she can think what they want, say whatever they want, and do literally whatever they want – children whose consciences have been smothered by their own professors. Eighteen years of parenting down the drain in a few months or years of campus living.

No wonder that whenever these students are faced with any kind of moral dilemma, they always seem to come down on the side of instant gratification, the side that requires the least amount of reflection, introspection or self-discipline, the side that feels better, goes down easier and glitters brighter.

When students are de-educated and advised to think, speak and do whatever they please, the immorality clouds their minds and hearts and renders them incapable of basic moral distinctions.

Obviously, supporting the Holy Land and the Chosen People becomes nearly impossible.

In this week’s Parshah, G-d teaches the Jews the basic relationship rules of Judaism. Since the Jews were coming from Egypt and going to Canaan, two cultures which championed pleasure and gratification over all else, G-d clearly lays out the Divine guidelines governing human intimacy.

In conclusion, the G-d says, “And you shall observe My charge, not to commit any of the abominable practices that were done before you, and you shall not become defiled by them. I am the L-rd your G-d.”

Commenting on these words, Rashi writes, “But if you do become defiled,” says God, “I am not your G-d, and you will be cut off from Me. What delight will I have from you..?”

So, I ask you: does G-d walk away from immoral people? Just because a person has decided to enjoy himself with no restraint, G-d abandons him? Parents don’t that, why would G-d?

Rather, G-d is not threatening to walk away from such a person, leaving him with no G-d; G-d is informing us of exactly the opposite: such a person will inevitably walk away from G-d.

A person who throws in his lot with a culture that promotes a life with no morality and no shame – such a person will quickly cut himself off from G-d, leaving him with no G-d and leaving G-d with no person.

Campus life as it is now causes students – directly or indirectly – to disassociate from G-d, from the Jewish People and from Israel. It’s not rocket science.

If you have children or grandchildren heading for college, have mercy on their souls and prepare them for it by infusing them with love and respect for G-d, commitment to the details of the Mitzvot, and a strong, healthy understanding of what being a Jew is all about.

And then, when they go to college, get in touch with the campus Chabad House, support it and encourage it, and ask them to embrace your child, watch over them, and most importantly, ask them to give your child a leadership position in the Jewish student community.

Then, your child will shine brightly in a place that dearly, desperately needs your child’s light. Your child’s garments – physical and proverbial – will be the talk of town. G-dly wisdom and 3,000 glorious years of Jewish history and honor will flow from your son or daughter, and they will literally change the world – the way students are supposed to.

Then you, the world, and G-d will have deep, lasting delight and Nachas from your delightful child.

Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom!