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This past Sunday was a special day for the Weinberg family. In addition to being the first day back in Hebrew School after the winter vacation, we celebrated our son Yehuda’s 3rd birthday and ceremonial first haircut, or Upshern (Yiddish for “haircut”). The ancient Jewish custom of leaving a boy’s hair uncut until the age of three and then holding a hair cutting ceremony is meant to accentuate the obligation to formally educate our children that begins at age 3.
The Hebrew word for education is Chinuch. Like so much of our rich Hebrew language, this word has a very special meaning that is not truly conveyed by its English counterpart: education. Chinuch is the process by which we enable an object or an individual to reach its potential.
For a child, reaching her or his potential means becoming sensitive to who she or he is. Our goal in educating our children is to foster the process of development within each one of them so that they can truly realize who they are as individual people and what their own unique strength and mission in life. Chinuch means the realization of the already inherent capacity of the child and the actualization of the potential that may otherwise lay dormant and hidden.
A person whose educational strategy is one of commands and habituation cannot be sure that the child will promulgate the same values and lifestyle as she or he becomes independent. An approach based on command or habituation need not take into account to the particular nature of the child. The command itself is all that is needed, and one command can suffice for an entire age group.
As such, we must adapt a “child centered” approach to educating our children. If we wish to uncover the unique soul that each of our children possesses, we must adapt ourselves attentively to their individual personalities and truly nurture a process of development and self-realization.
All the best,
Rabbi Weinberg
January 14: Regular Sessions
January 21: Regular Sessions ~ Torah Dollar Store is Open
January 21-28: Expect Report Cards in the Mail
January 28: Regular Sessions ~ Aleph Champ Awards Ceremony
February 2: Hebrew School Friday Night Dinner
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