Over the last few months I’ve been part of a working group that’s trying to address the shortage of Jewish Day School teachers across North America. During one of the sessions, a person in school leadership shared that he was inspired to go into professional Jewish education because at his graduation, his principal made a plug for the graduates to become Jewish educators. He felt so inspired that he did just that! So – I figured I’d give that a try and see what happens.
Now please don’t think for a moment that I don’t realize that there are a few of the parents here whose chest just tightened up, maybe a few salty words about me under your breath for the child you expect to become a podiatrist or endodontist, or more likely someone in real estate or finance (this is Toronto, after all!). But if you would, indulge me for a few moments.
Why are we here today? We’re here because your children have just graduated from Netivot. And how was this possible? It’s because there are a group of people, some in this room and some not, who’ve made it their life’s mission to help your child grow to this point, to help them see the world more clearly, to develop the skills that will allow them to thrive in the world, to inspire them to cultivate their gifts. To them we owe our deepest gratitude. These are our teachers!
The only other people in the world that I know that are as dedicated to raising your children as they are, are you, their parents. For that, you deserve their greatest respect and admiration – from them and us. Graduates – a round of applause please!
You have, whether you think about it this way or not, partnered with these very same teachers in the holy task of raising your children, for the last 8-10 years. It’s you and them. A holy partnership. It’s because of you and these teachers that you have the beautiful graduates in front of us. This is a wonderful gift.
Now, I hope some of our graduates will, in a few years time, recognize that gift, and decide to be partners to parents like you, growing a new generation of children in Torah and Jewish life. That they will recognize that Hashem gave us a Torah 3000 years ago, that this unbroken chain continues because parents and teachers have partnered for generations, and that they will want to be part of ensuring that this chain continues to thrive and grow.
But I’m not pinning all my hopes on these idealistic few. For those of you who read my Monday Morning Reading email (and if you’re not, I think it’s time you started, and you should feel a little guilty), you might remember that about a month ago I wrote about Asael Lubotsky’s memoir. Asael is a Netivot parent who was an officer wounded in the second Lebanon War. His story is inspiring and powerful, and you should read the book, but that’s not why I bring it up. One thing I noticed throughout his memoir was what a gifted educator Asael was, though I’m not sure he intended to model this. I admired the way he constantly thought about how to educate his soldiers, improve their skills, guide them through the challenges they faced, both emotional and practical, and be thoughtful about the needs of each of the soldiers he was responsible for. And he often did so with a Torah lens. Asael is a Jewish educator, even as then he was a soldier, and today, a doctor. He didn’t partner in the classroom. Life was his classroom, but he took upon himself the responsibility of teaching in every place he found himself.
So my real charge to the graduates is this: How will you be a Jewish educator, no matter where you are in life? How will you model living a Torah life for others? How will you be a partner in creating the next generation, as the present generation has partnered to raise you? It doesn’t matter if you’re a podiatrist, a mail carrier, a computer programmer or a real life teacher. I submit that no matter what you choose to do with your life, be it next year in high school, or in the years that follow, being a Jewish educator is something powerful and inspiring, and which we can all and should do with simply the right frame of mind, knowing that we are responsible for the Jewish family around us, helping them grow as so many have done for you to get you to this day.
I want to wish our graduates only bracha on your path ahead, and nachas and mazel to all of our families.
Mazel tov!