As the rabbi of the central Tel Aviv neighborhood, we host groups of elementary and high school students at the synagogue many times throughout the year, and especially on the days surrounding the Jewish holidays.
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In these meetings, I talk to them about the meaning of their Jewish soul, the concept of 'Gaon-Jacob', and the important place of the synagogue in the life of every Jew.
Every time I am surprised by the two extremes that emerge in these encounters: on the one hand, the ignorance and lack of knowledge of many of the children of Israel, perhaps even the disinformation instilled in their minds, regarding everything related to the Torah and the mitzvot; and on the other hand, their great desire and thirst to know and become more familiar with their heritage and Judaism; their immediate willingness to internalize and connect, if only their environment and society would allow them, to many of the mitzvot of the Torah and the customs of the people of Israel.
I have already become accustomed to the looks of discomfort directed at me by the counselors and teachers of those youth groups, when the conversation "for God's sake" extends several minutes beyond what was expected, or when the children show "unfortunately," too much interest and identification in my explanations of the Torah and Judaism.
Over time, the pain in my heart also became numb to the fact that for some of these groups, it is not a "visit to a synagogue," but rather part of a complete "visiting tour," which equally includes visits to (to be distinguished from) churches, mosques, and other centers of idolatry...
But recently, a teacher at a prestigious Tel Aviv school 'succeeded' in reawakening the great pain in my heart.
When she noticed that the group of boys, aged 12-13, were talking enthusiastically about tefillin and their meaning, and the girls were interested in the essence of a 'bat mitzvah' for them, she tried to hasten the end of the conversation even before the appointed time. When the teacher saw that some of the boys even wanted to put on tefillin themselves, she stood up on the synagogue stage and ended my lecture by announcing: "Well done, children, I am very glad that you have listened so attentively here, it is getting late and we are now going to church, I very much hope that you will also show the same interest in the Holy Father's lecture in church, which will also surely be fascinating!..."'
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I would suggest to the great scholars of the theory of the mind and professors of psychology to conduct an in-depth study that would find where the fear and reluctance stem from, and from what dark place in the soul the sickening feelings of inferiority come from, of so many Israelis, who are simply afraid that a Jewish boy or girl will learn and know about the heritage of their ancestors.
What and why is there such terrible fear?!
I recently spoke to many of the senior officials of the Ministry of Education and the heads of various departments in the Israeli education system. It was a ceremonial and festive event, where it is not customary to criticize the education system, but I could not resist and settle for symbolic things. Israel's children are our most precious asset, and their education is the only guarantee for the future of the people of Israel.
When we see how they are trying to keep our children away from their quarry, we simply cannot remain silent. I felt compelled to speak out about the situation.
I said nothing about the form of education in Israel, but simply presented the facts to those present as they are: In surveys conducted abroad on the unfortunate subject of assimilation, by reputable research institutes and organizations such as the UJA and others, it repeatedly appears that the number of Israelis who are assimilating is several times higher than the number of assimilating among local Jews.
How is it that a young Jewish man who was educated in the Israeli education system, served in the army and grew up in a Jewish state - decides with complete indifference that his Jewish identity and the future of the people of Israel are not important to him at all?
I don't blame anyone personally. We are all guilty. Each and every one of those who have an influence on youth here in the Land of Israel must make a complete change in direction in their thinking.
In the Rosh Hashanah prayer, we say, "Yotserei Binani Morasheh Lehanikhil" - we ask that we have the understanding of how to pass on the heritage of Israel. All of us, and especially those responsible for education in Israel, must understand the enormous responsibility we have to pass on to each and every one of Israel's children the beauty of the Torah of Israel, the love for the Holy One, blessed be He, for the Torah and the mitzvot, the great privilege that "He chose us from all the peoples and gave us His Torah.".
A comprehensive systemic change is needed, which will result in every boy and girl in Israel being proud of being the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the daughters of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.
We are standing after the Feast of Shavuot, the feast of the giving of our Torah, when the people of Israel declared, "Our children are Arabs in our sight"!
We have no right to exist and continue in the Land of Israel without the Jewish education of "Torah commanded us Moses, the community of Jacob"! Only through Jewish education will the glorious lineage of the people of Israel continue in the Land of Israel.
