Raising Children

 Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

 

November 5-6, 2021 / 2 Kislev 5782

Shabbat Toledot

Torah: Genesis 25:19 - 28:9

Haftarah: Malachi 1:1 - 2:7

 

“Raising Children”

 

Dear Friends,

 

Raising children can be hard.  Isaac and Rebecca knew this as their sons Jacob and Esau fought constantly, even before they were born.  Esau was a hunter and spent much of his time in the field.  Jacob was witty and scheming, cheating his brother out of his birthright and deceiving his father into giving him the blessing of the first born. Without a doubt, this family and other families in the Torah were remarkable dysfunctional. Oy!

 

Nevertheless, the Torah is sending us a hopeful message. By showing us a real depiction of a founding family of our people, we find that we can relate to them.  We can sympathize with their difficulties and be inspired by their successes. Furthermore, we can take their example and learn how to do better.  Our tradition is telling us to raise our children with strong guidance towards good behavior and compassionate understanding when things go bad. Afterall, we learn much from our mistakes, especially when we apologize and understand where we were wrong – pledging to do better in the future.

 

Yes, it is hard raising children, whether they are our own or nephews, nieces, grandchildren, students, etc.  Yet, it is one of the greatest of mitzvot – righteous obligations – that we can perform.

 

Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.

 

Shabbat shalom,

 

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow