Moses' Guide for the School Year

September 3, 2016   

This week's Torah portion begins with a sentence that describes the Great Holiday. The Great Holiday indeed. "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse," the parsha opens, presenting us with the freedom of choice. We are free to choose between blessing and curse, between good and evil. Ultimately, no one will choose for us. This is the great educational story of our lives, and it is valid both in July-August and in September. There is really no great freedom from values. "אמא, יש בחופש פרשה בכלל?" שאל אותי אחד מילדיי בעוד יום של פיצה בקניון, ואני, מאוכזבת, עניתי שכן, גם אם אין שום גננת שתלמד אותו על כך. שזופים, עייפים, הלומי-מסכים, חוזרים בימים אלה שני מיליון ילדים למערכת החינוך, והפרשה שמלווה את השבוע הזה, פרשת "רְאֵה", מכילה כמה אמיתות יסוד חשובות לקראת שנת הלימודים החדשה. אחרי שהיא מספרת לנו על הבחירה החופשית, היא גם קוראת לנו לבחור בעקרונות הבאים:  ""You shall not do according to all that we have done today, every man according to all that is right in his own eyes" - this is what Moses says to the people of Israel in his farewell speech to them in the wilderness, before entering the new life in the Land of Israel. In other words, from now on there is discipline, there are rules, there is order, there is commitment. It is impossible to run a country, a society, or a class if a man does what is right in his own eyes. In other words, stop going to bed at three in the morning and getting up at two in the afternoon. From now on, we have a common mission.  "And you shall not close your hand from your poor brother; for you shall open your hand to him" – Moses, the great teacher, continues to tell his disciples. The teaching of sensitivity towards the weak and the poor, towards those who have nothing, accompanies the entire parsha. Later, we are asked to donate and give a tenth of all our grain ("a tenth of all the produce of your seed"). The Torah does not call this "social justice," but it does mean it.  ""Because your brother has incited you... to say, 'Let us go and serve other gods'" – Moses describes social pressure. A situation in which a brother, friend, or neighbor convinces us to replace our principles with "other gods." The speaker may be charismatic and persuasive, but the Torah reminds us not to succumb to such incitement, not to adopt what is trendy among our environment and among all the guys, and to guard our freedom of thought and what is sacred and precious to us.  ""And you shall break down your altars" – to break down altars? How does this relate to our day? Well, idolatry is not only ancient temples and all kinds of statues that were here throughout the ancient Land of Israel in the past. Idol worship is also worship and servitude to brands, to Instagram celebrities, to money, to honor, to cars, to likes on the latest selfie we uploaded. Many commentators emphasize that even today, when we feel liberated and free, we may still be idolaters, just like those we are sure are primitive and outdated.  ""You shall not eat this" and "You shall not eat this" – the parasha commands the laws of kashrut in a very clear way: There is yes and there is no. Allowed and forbidden. Black and white. In an era when there is much talk about inclusion, about narratives, about understanding the other – we must remember that there are also absolute laws and clear truths. Moshe reminds us that in education, sometimes we simply have to say no, because no. Because it doesn't suit you, because I said so, because that's how it is, without reasoning and without negotiation.  "And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt" – the parasha demands that we remember where we came from, in order to know where we are going. "A people who do not know their past, their present is poor and their future is shrouded in darkness," Yigal Allon once said. In our case, the historical story is supposed to make us more generous and humane. We know what it is to be slaves.  ""At the end of seven years you shall observe a sabbath" – the commandment for the year of sabbath also appears in this week's rich and fascinating parasha. Once every seven years the mechanism resets, agricultural work ceases, and a year of rest and recharging begins, a year that is entirely Shabbat, which essentially tells us: material things, money, and land are not the main thing. We can let go.  ""The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself" – the phrase "a people for himself" also appears in the Torah exactly the week we return to school. Alongside academic achievements, grades and exams, there is no shame in talking about a calling and a vision, about wanting to be a blessing to the world. If this sounds racist or condescending, try to think of it this way: According to many commentators, the command to be a "people for himself" does not grant us rights but rather obligations.  "For you shall do what is good and upright" – After all the detailed and precise instructions, the general commandment to do what is good and upright also appears. We can give students a set of rules and tell them what the rules are, but at the end of the day we will not be there at the right moment to supervise and tell them exactly how to behave. That is why there is a general instruction here – "For you shall do what is good and upright". The parasha reminds us that not everything is written in advance on the menu or in the script. Parents and teachers strive to teach and educate and guide and instruct, but life is not a copy-and-paste. We can only hope and expect, and also pray, that from the tremendous free choice they have – our children and students will choose what is good and upright, a blessing and not a curse.

Jewish status:

""I learned a lot from my teachers, and from my friends – more than from my teachers, and from my students – more than all of them" (Tractate Taanit) • The column is published in Yedioth Ahronoth.'