Timeless Torah

The Torah’s economy of words is legendary. Entire laws are derived at times from one extra letter. Unnecessary repetitions are thus suspect, and usually lead to volumes of commentary and interpretation. In this week’s Biblical reading, one need not look too far to experience this phenomenon. “Hashem said to Moshe: Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: To a dead person he shall not become impure.”

The redundancy is immediately obvious by the double usage of the term, “Say... and say to them.” Rashi, quoting the Talmud understands this to mean that the elder Kohanim must expend extra effort teaching their youngsters that they not defile themselves to a dead person.

Although this is certainly not the only instance where our Sages caution the elders to keep an eye on their youth, this is perhaps the most famous. One almost feels compelled to ask why the emphatic warning to the priests, when every parent is obligated to educate their children in all mitzvohs?

This however can be made clearer once we understand how education works. Were one to ask parents, “Who is your child’s most effective teacher?” they would likely respond by heaping (hopefully) lavish praise on their children’s rebbes and teachers. What response would be forthcoming if you pressed further? Perhaps they would name a principal, a favorite camp counselor, and of course themselves, the parents.

Still forgotten however is the most influential and significant teacher of all. His peers! We don’t live in a vacuum. The most valiant and well intended efforts to give our children a good education, one that consists of learning not only a chapter of Bible but also acquiring fine character traits and a commitment to Judaism - can be completely undermined if the child is not surrounded by friends who share the same viewpoint. You can go blue in the face teaching a child not to talk during services, yet if there is a serious talking problem in your synagogue; you are likely fighting a losing battle. Indeed, it would only be a matter of time before they began questioning, “If it’s so important, why isn’t anyone else doing it?”

This was a lesson that was learned the hard way by early European immigrants to America. While at home a strict adherence to halacha was taught and practiced, children were sent to public schools where they mingled with others to whom Jewish law was not an issue. Many of them went on; to their parents’ utter dismay, to blindly follow in the destructive paths of their equally youthful educator/peers.

While we surely hope that when they are older, children will be firm enough in their faith to, “Go out into the world” and deal with people that have opposing views, to subject them to such an onslaught when they are still young and impressionable is ill-advised. The gardener begins by planting his tree in a planter, where he can control its soil and climate, and keep it under the protective roof of a solarium. Only later, when the tree’s roots have developed and its branches are strong, does he take the tree outside where it can battle with the elements and stand strong against the storm-winds.

Can you imagine, then, how difficult it must have been to be a young Kohen during the time of the Holy Temple, when a priest’s purity was a daily concern? At home, the young Kohen would be taught to exercise extreme caution not to defile himself by walking through a cemetery, touching a dead rodent, or even by sitting on a chair that had been used by someone who was impure. There’s no sitting on the bus for young Kohanim. After all who knows who sat on the bench before them! Other defilements could cancel lunch which were in all probability terumah (priestly tithes), and could only been eaten when ritually pure.

Yet their friends that they played with and learned with, young Israelites (i.e. non-Kohanim), likely displayed utter disregard for all these laws. After all, they did not eat terumah and had no commandment to refrain from defiling themselves. This dichotomy could only have caused the elder Kohanim extreme difficulty in imparting to their youth an appreciation for these critical laws.

What do you do to counteract the natural tendency of a child to be influenced by his peers? You remind the parents to constantly repeat themselves (say and say), because when you are asking your young to swim against the tide, you’ve got to say it once, then say it again, and say it again....