Of Seeds and Saplings - Part 2

Psychiatrist: Do you hear voices?
Patient: No.
Psychiatrist: Do you ever think of hurting yourself?
Patient: No.
Psychiatrist: Do you steal?
Patient: No.
Psychiatrist: Do you drink? Smoke?
Patient: No, and no.
Psychiatrist: So why are you here?
Patient: Well… I have this problem; I tend to lie a little.

***

על כל פשעים תכסה האהבה

As humans, we often excuse or even ignore our faults or those of someone we love.

While this trait can be utilized to overcome differences between people and their loved ones, the Yetzer Hara utilizes this natural tendency to excuse the weakening of our resolve in giving our children a Torah-true Chinuch.

***

Being the blueprint with which Hashem created the world, the Torah isn't merely a way of life, it is the very "Manual" for living a wholesome and fulfilling life. 

Nowadays, the modern world drifts further and further away from Torah principles. There are those who, due to their own insecurities and personal challenges, find it difficult to educate children with a whole, uncompromised, undiluted Chinuch. They think that a "whole Torah" is overwhelming and frightening for a child, and instead teach a compromised and watered-down version of the Torah.

Instead of recognizing and correcting the problem, the Yetzer Hara justifies this as being a Mitzvah: "Exposing children to the entire Torah will scare them off... In order for the Torah to be palatable for the youth, we need to dilute it, bring it down to their level... We are preserving the Torah!"

Sadly, our history has shown where such "Mitzvos" have led the Jewish people. 

***

Educating a young child is likened to planting a young sapling. A scratch on any part of the seed, however minuscule, results in a huge blemish later on; so huge that its magnitude cannot be estimated ahead of time.

Similarly, when teaching the Torah to children, any scratch or compromise can have everlasting effects, R"L. 

Our children view the world in absolutes. They do not understand compromises or half-truths - if there even exists such a thing. When children are presented with compromises, they see the entire subject or message as unstable, and lose trust in the message, the educator, and whatever the educator represents. Their entire approach and trust in Torah is scratched...

The Torah is the ultimate truth, the ultimate "absolute". Therefore, when dealing with children in general, especially young children, and especially when teaching them about the Torah and Mitzvos, we cannot make any compromises.

We cannot "preserve" the Torah by withholding it, no matter how "promising" such an endeavor may seem. 

In order to ensure that our children have an unwavering trust, and lifelong commitment to the Torah, we must deliver it to them in its entirety. We cannot allow our own deficiencies and challenges to hold us back.

Let us not let the Yetzer Hara pass off diluting the Torah as a Mitzvah.

The Mitzvah is to say and teach the truth.

The Whole and Undiluted Truth.

Based on a Letter from the Rebbe, 5 Menachem Av 5716 - Igros Kodesh Vol. 13, p. 344.

Postscript: While an uncompromised Chinuch is the key to an everlasting commitment to a Torah life, it must be accomplished בדרכי נועם ובנתיבות שלום - in a pleasant and peaceful manner.

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