Weekly Letter: The Vital Importance of A Hebrew Education

Having just celebrated Shavuos and the receiving of our Torah – during which we gave Hahsem our children as guarantors – we share a basic letter about chinuch, where the Rebbe clearly explains to a parent the vital importance of a Hebrew education, at least as important as a secular one, if not more so. And comments on the method of instruction the child is getting, which the parent mentions, the method of “habet u’shma” – not in keeping with our declaration at Sinai of “Na’aseh v’Nishma.”

The Letter & The Spirit – 5729
The Family

Mr. ______
Indianapolis, Indiana

Greeting and Blessing:

I was pleasantly surprised to note in your letter excerpts of letters from your son, as well as the spirit of your comments in this connection. Inasmuch as there is no end to the good, I trust that there will be a continuity in this direction and, moreover, that the good influence of your son will create a chain reaction affecting all the members of your family.

I wish to take issue with you, however, on the subject of your youngest daughter who, as you write, is eleven years old, and has resisted starting Hebrew school; however, you “did not force the issue.” You can well imagine my reaction to this. For, surely, if your eleven year old daughter would have resisted going to school altogether, you would have found it necessary to “force” the issue—if the term “force” can indeed be applied here. Certainly, insofar as a Jewish child is concerned, her Hebrew education is at least as important to her as a general education. This has been generally recognized throughout the ages, but it should particularly be recognized in our own day and age, for we have seen many of the greatest and saintliest of our people exterminated by a murderous enemy. Consequently, all of us who have been fortunate enough to survive have a duty to make up for this tremendous loss. On the other hand, we see that the forces of total assimilation have grown much stronger in the free and democratic countries.

You may consider my reference to your daughter’s attitude, and to your attitude in this connection, no longer relevant, since you write that she has now agreed to begin Hebrew school, though you immediately point out (with apparent satisfaction), that the method of instruction is “habet u’shma” (see and hear), a system which by all accounts does not aim to lead to va’aseh (do). Surely there is no need to emphasize to you the fact that when the Torah was given to our people, “Na’aseh” was not only a condition of acceptance of the Torah, but a prior condition—“Na’aseh” before “v’Nishma.” Our Sages of blessed memory pointed out that Jewish identity and the very basis of Jewish existence, for the individual as well as for the people as a whole, lie in this great principle of “Na’aseh” before “v’Nishma.” Certainly this is the way to train and educate a Jewish child.

With blessing,
[Sign.]

1. Shabbat 88a.