Children of Believers

By Getzy Markowitz

Spending Lag Beomer day with my nephew this week sent me down memory lane to the days when thousands of children marched down the famous Lag Beomer parade route at Lubavitch World Headquarters.

I cannot purport to remember the Rebbe’s address to the legions of men, women, and children, who came from across the metropolitan area to join in the show of Jewish unity. I wont profess to recall every detail of the events that took place only a couple of times in my youth, as the parades were only held when Lag Beomer was on a Sunday. However, I can look back on one time that I actually marched with my kindergarten class by the grand podium from which the Rebbe viewed the procession.

We were crowned with festive hats that we made from construction paper. As we passed the viewing platform we gloriously raised signs we had drawn on that were maintained by reinforced cardboard and cheap wood. Some placards protested our long exile. Most publicized a particular Mitzvah. It was a joyful moment for parents and teachers who took snapshots of their pride, and for us children who would frame the moment for eternity.

The weather was ghastly, and many of the floats were ruined. Our own painted costumes and uniforms were dripping as the rain washed off the dye, yet the Rebbe’s face radiated. This I might recall, or the footage I have since seen makes that impression. A classmate’s banner had detached from the thin, flat piece of wood that held it together. After notifying him of his misfortune, the boy pointed out my own. We both had walked by the Rebbe carrying sticks, but no posters. Yet, the Rebbe saluted us, because as he saw it, we were Judaism’s poster children.

It is typical of a country’s armed forces to parade by their leader, demonstrating the power which defends and propels their nation forward. The Lubavitcher Rebbe was not only the commander of armies of emissaries which he empowered. He was a leader of the parading children, in whom he equally believed. The Lag Beomer parades were designed with children in mind. We would recite Torah passages, give charity, and be reminded of our status among our people. We weren’t just minors, but individuals who played a major role in our people’s future.

Before my time, the Rebbe was joined on stage by the late Rabbi Yaakov Yehuda Hecht, who as my mother fondly recalls, led the children’s rallies and carefully communicated the Rebbe’s messages to the youngsters. Rabbi J.J. Hecht, as he is affectionately referred to, was a fiery orator and personality who tenaciously dedicated his life to Jewish education. Last Shabbos, I had the distinct honor of addressing a unique congregation that is named for the passionate man.

They are an exclusive Los Angeles community whose choice membership call themselves the Diamond Daveners. To join, one must meet a basic age requirement which sums up the foundation of the Shul, which is not controversial, but unconventional. Kol Yaakov Yehuda’s slogan expresses its operation, which sets it apart from any other synagogue on earth: “For kids, by kids.”

Rabbi Mendel Duchman, the Shul’s founder, is the son-in-law of the late J.J. Hecht and pioneer of a program that has taken the L.A. Chabad community by storm. Though he is the senior rabbi, each week the Shul appoints a junior rabbi to run the show. Members elect their leadership, and themselves lead prayers. I have seen and even lead a number of youth services around the world, but never have I witnessed the display of confidence and leadership qualities in children as I did while being among the Diamond Daveners.

Mendel spends his week traveling around the country coaching Chabad emissaries with the expansion of their communities. I submit that he should travel around the world to expand his Shul concept, which ought to be franchised. If every Jewish community on earth would have a KYY shul for kids, by kids, we would witness a totally different Jewish landscape. Imagine a ceremony where children don’t just perform the commandments as told, but could tell you why they are so meaningful. It was a pleasure to watch as children weren’t sluggish to get to Shul, but eager to lead it. We have all seen the image of a child tugging at their parents’ hands or coats, impatiently shlepping them home at the conclusion of services. What if we can reverse that picture and actually have children anxiously pulling their parents to Shul?

Of course, raising good Jewish children takes more than a place for them to meet. It takes parents’ motivation and personification. However, what Mendel Duchman is doing on the western seaboard must be implemented in communities from coast to coast, and exported to the ends of the earth.

Our children should be told how the greatest Jewish leader of our time invested and believed in them. And they should be shown how his disciples do too. If kids see how much confidence we have in them, they’ll adapt to our belief.