In Israeli tradition, Lag BaOmer is characterized as a day of strengthening Jewish education. In Eastern Europe, teachers used to go out into the fields with their students on this day, play archery and instill Jewish values in their hearts.
Nowadays, on this day, children's parades are held throughout the country and the world, in the years following their establishment, demonstrating the unity of the people and the love of Jewish tradition.
Many wonder what happened to the younger generation's connection to the heritage of their ancestors. The founding generation of the country brought with them a great love for the Bible. The children were named after biblical names. The names of the cities and towns were drawn from the Bible. There was even a trend to connect directly to the days of the Bible, skipping the period in between. And now all of this has faded and disappeared, and the younger generation does not feel a closeness or love for the Bible.
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Among the young, there is also a noticeable indifference to the history of our people. It seems only natural that people would want to know who they are and where they came from. In other countries, there is great interest in the history of the people and the history of the nation.
And what about us, the oldest people in the world, whose history is the richest and most fascinating – suddenly our children find no interest in it?!
Need a soul
The root of the problem is that the spirit and soul were removed from the Bible and the stories of the days of Israel. Only the body remains, and a body without a soul is lifeless and boring. Every nation is interested in its roots because at birth it absorbs love of homeland, national pride, and an affinity for the nation's tradition.
Here they do exactly the opposite – love of homeland is mockingly called 'nationalism,' love of the people is called 'racism,' and tradition is cut off with a sharp knife, for fear of 'religion', mercifully. They try to raise a young generation without roots, and then wonder about the alienation.
The disengagement of youth has been discussed in several forums, and more than once the claim has been made that the blame lies with teachers, who are supposed to teach the material and instill in the children's hearts a love of heritage. Such a conclusion is like looking for a coin under a lamp, and not in the place where it was lost.
First, most teachers lack the knowledge necessary to pass on the legacy. They too grew up and were educated in a system that was disconnected from its roots. But the problem is not just a lack of knowledge. There is something deeper here – most teachers cannot like the subject to their students.
A successful teacher is not someone who can recite material, but someone who can teach it with liveliness and enthusiasm and captivate the students. To teach Judaism, it is not enough to take courses; one must love it and experience its heartbeat. Only teachers whose connection to tradition is part of their lives are capable of teaching it as an experience to the younger generation.
Judaism as an experience
Anyone who sits at the Shabbat table, where children who receive a traditional Jewish education are present, sees how they live the weekly portion. They talk about it with enthusiasm and enjoy hearing a good saying or a nice commentary.
They do not study it as an archaic text that needs to be 'analyzed' in comparison to other cultures, but as a real experience that they live with on a daily basis.
On Lag BaOmer, alongside the bonfire and charred tofu, we need to light the fire of love for Jewish tradition in the hearts of children, and connect them to the spiritual roots from which the Jewish people have drawn their strength and power throughout all generations.
