At the beginning of the week, I was exposed to a discussion that developed on social media regarding articles published in various media outlets about someone who 'retired' with his family.<\/p>\r\n
In interviews, he talks about dealing with the communal framework that led to questions about faith, and about the concern for his children's education that caused him to leave religion and embark on a new path.<\/p>\r\n
The discussion was heated, raising questions about the outlook, boundaries, and nature of education of the various communities.<\/p>\r\n
As part of my work with dropout youth, I get to talk to dozens of boys and hear from them about their coping (or rather lack of coping) with questions of faith, and with community frameworks that cause them to kick everything and go outside, while silencing their consciences with theories of heresy against the Creator and His Torah.<\/p>\r\n
It's no secret: dropout rates among youth are on a steady rise; special programs are opening at a dizzying pace, and preventive and therapeutic projects are popping up like mushrooms after the rain.<\/p>\r\n
But despite everything, the Haredi public has not yet undergone a significant change in consciousness that could prevent many cases of dropping out and asking questions.<\/p>\r\n
You can also learn about this from this week's Torah:<\/p>\r\n
\""And these are the names of the children of Israel... Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, etc." The commentators\u00a0Asking<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>What does the Torah have to say about mentioning the names of the tribes? After all, in the previous parshas we have already mentioned all the deeds of the brothers, and only in the previous parsha did we list their names when Jacob blessed them before his death - and what is the point of listing their names again?<\/span><\/p>\r\n The commentators make the excuse that the Israelites faced a difficult period of slavery, after which redemption would come - through which they would become the chosen people. The Torah comes to teach us that although they will unite in the future towards receiving the Torah, each tribe still has its own uniqueness.<\/p>\r\n Each tribe was blessed by Jacob with a blessing that characterizes only it, because each has its own skills and natures. And this was Jacob's wisdom: to unite everyone around 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,' and still give each the legitimacy to worship God in their own way, which suits their character and attributes.<\/p>\r\n This is the foundation of our forefather Jacob for the people of Israel: there is one truth, one Creator, but everyone is allowed to connect with Him in a way that suits them.<\/p>\r\n Enoch to the boy according to his ways<\/strong><\/p>\r\n If we, His sons, always remember this foundation, we will understand that there are tribes that serve God through the study of Torah, and there are tribes that serve Him through prayer and the practice of virtue; there are tribes that treat Him with reverence and there are tribes that treat Him with love. Each has their own path, and no path contradicts its companion, as long as the goal is shared: serving God.<\/p>\r\n If we, in the Haredi sector, bring to our consciousness that each community has its own path, and each rabbi has his own path, then we will begin to show understanding and tolerance even for our brothers who are different from us in appearance and dress.<\/p>\r\n The Lithuanians will understand that there is also a way to worship God according to Hasidism, and the Hasids will understand that there is also another way.<\/p>\r\n If we educate ourselves to be tolerant and do not exclude anyone who is not educated in our way, our children will understand that there are other ways to serve God. It is not 'all or nothing.' The communal framework is not part of the principles of faith.<\/p>\r\n If we educate our children in this way, then even if they find a difficulty or flaw in the conduct of the setting, it will not contradict the tenets of faith for them.<\/p>\r\n Then even if a boy comes to kick in the community setting, he will not kick in the Torah; and even if he denies the Rebbe, he will not deny the Creator.<\/p>\r\n We will make sure to educate our child in the way we were raised, in the way our community is educated, but if we fail, we must always remember that 'one will always be the other.'.<\/p>\r\n Every tribe has its own path, every community has its own uniqueness. And if it is difficult on a certain path, you can always try another. For just as all rivers lead to the sea, so all tribes lead to the same God.<\/p>\r\n And as Rabbi Nathan of Breslov said: "Know that every shepherd has his own special melody. Know that every herb has its own special song, and the song of the herbs becomes the melody of a shepherd.".<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next 'repeated question' can only be avoided by educating for tolerance, without excluding anyone who is not educated in our way. \u2022 If the boy wants to kick in the communal setting, he will not kick in the Torah, if he denies the Rebbe, he will not deny the Creator.","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[32311,8119,4539,8120,4142],"class_list":["post-126363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-138","tag-32311","tag-8119","tag-4539","tag-8120","tag-4142"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n