Great Chinuch is For Everyone

When we send our children to Yeshiva every day, what do we expect them to come home with? Aside from the many valuable, non-academic things that children gain in Cheder, what are our expectations for their learning? Do we want them to learn in-depth and have a geshmack in limud Torah, or to know enough to get by as yidden, have a vort or two for the Shabbos table, and be in a chassidishe environment?

For those of us who are involved in the avodas hakodesh of chinuch, what hopes do we have for the talmidim/os who fill our classrooms? Is it enough if just a few of them really learn – the top of the class – and the others behave and go home happy? Can we expect every child to excel in learning? Is that even a reasonable goal?

There are those who are on both sides of the spectrum, including prominent and venerable Torah sources throughout the ages. To define the vision of chinuch in our community, let’s look at the Rebbe’s perspective: that true chinuch means that every child learns every chelek in Torah, and can succeed.

An Accessible Chinuch for All

The Rebbe selected 12 pesukim that we start teaching our children from the earliest age, because they have fundamental messages about how we relate to Yiddishkeit, Torah, and our lives.

The first possuk our children learn is תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהילת יעקב. Torah is our yerusha– inheritance. Chazal interpret the word morosha to mean mor’osa – marriage, that a yid is married to Torah. What is this marriage between a Yid and Torah? Is it this a Parsha sheet on Shabbos or an Ois B’sefer Torah certificate on the wall? No. The marriage between a Yid and Torah is the full experience of Torah.. But how does a child access that?

We find the answer in another of the pesukim, “יגעתי, ומצאתי, תאמין”. On the surface, we understand this as a powerful message of “if you try hard, you will succeed.”

What kind of success is this talking about? The gemara (מגילה ו:ב) defines this principle as applying specifically to Limud haTorah. The Bais Halevi (on Shemos Perek Yud Tes) breaks this down further, to say that within Torah, this principle applies davka to in depth understanding. To translate directly, “To comprehend the sharpness and analysis of Torah depends solely on a person’s toil!” (הרי דלענין להשיג החידוד והפלפול של התורה תלוי רק ביגיעת האדם לחודא!)

This is the message we must give our smallest children as they begin their lifelong endeavour of limud Torah. But first, we as a community need to ensure that we believe it ourselves, and to recalibrate our definition of successful chinuch in that light.

Each Neshama is Shayach

A Lubavitcher mechanech once wrote to the Rebbe that he was planning to leave chinuch. Why the burnout? He described that many of his talmidim were not shayach to learning (and specified in particular to learning Chassidus), so he felt his efforts could be better utilized elsewhere.

The Rebbe swiftly responded:

It is a wonder to express oneself that way regarding neshamos of Bnai Yisroel, despite what is explained in Kabalah and is elaborated upon in Chassidus, including Sefer Hatanya: that every single [Yid] has a portion in the 4 sections of PaRDe”S within Torah, and specifically when it comes to Toras Hachasidus…

Rather, it’s understood that there needs to be words that come from the heart, accompanied by appropriate explanations in a keli hamekabel, and it is known what RaZa”L say that anyone who has yiras Shamayim, his words are heard. And when he will ponder the greatness of his work and his merit thereby – he will certainly add in strength and will immediately see increased success in all that was spoken about…

The Rebbe’s view is clear. It is OUR task to bring success in learning to every child in our reach. And this task begins with high goals and expectations, for ourselves and for our students.

We all know of children who were deemed unable to succeed in learning, and subsequently left the fold and became top achievers in intellectually demanding professions and universities. There are others who were not matzliach in learning during their school years, but after graduating were motivated to rediscover Torah, learning on their own how to find a geshmack in a blatt gemara, or to connect deeply and personally to Chassidus. All of these children were shayach to learning, but they needed us to believe that, to expect it of them, and to give them the tools to grow.

A mother in Miami, Florida related that she used to worry that her child would not be able to have a life of learning. Then he had a teacher, Rabbi Shuki Steinberg, who worked with her son one on one, utilizing a creative and personal approach. By the end of the year, this boy was able to learn Mishnayos, Gemara and Chumash as well as his classmates – because a teacher believed that he could. Countless educators demonstrate to us how the Rebbe’s vision for chinuch becomes reality, and it is up to us, the entire community, to uphold this vision for every child in every school.

Holding Ourselves Accountable

This is why the Menachem Education Foundation (MEF) works to champion a high quality chinuch for every child, working together with hundreds of teachers and schools throughout the Lubavitch community to come up with ways to ensure that every child really learns. Over the past eight years, our work has helped us reach approximately 6,000 children, and we will not rest until all 15,000 children in Chabad schools have access to a chinuch that helps them succeed.

On Chof Cheshvan, the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab, we as a community will be reflecting on the task of Chinuch that our Rebbeim have given us, and what we can do for the schools that carry that mission. On Chof Cheshvan, the Menachem Education Foundation will call upon you to “Step up for Chinuch” – to demonstrate your belief that every one of our children can, should, and will have the very best possible chinuch. Visit charidy.com/mef to find out more about what MEF does to make this a reality, how you can become an indispensable part of it today.

By Zalman Shneur. Zalman Shneur is the executive director and founder of the Menachem Education Foundation