One Baby, One Message

In one of the most famous court cases ever recorded, Shlomo Hamelech was asked to rule on a truly difficult case: the two women who each claimed that the baby belonged to them. The wise king ruled that the baby should be split (!), and each woman would get one half of the baby. 

Immediately one woman cried out in protest and said that she gives up her claim to the baby, lest the baby be hurt. Shlomo Hamelech then granted the baby to her, because she was obviously the natural mother, having exhibited the true motherly love to a child.

While the logic seems pretty straightforward, there is something puzzling about the ruling. How did Shlomo Hamelech take the risk of ordering to "split the baby"? Is it not possible that the other woman would have protested and ask not to cut it? Or, perhaps the real mother would be so shocked, that by the time she realized what was happening, her baby would be...?

How did Shlomo Hamelech take this risk?

The answer is* that Shlomo Hamelech never intended to actually split (cut) the baby in half. He did however rule that the women should share custody of the child...

And that is how Shlomo Hamelech figured who the real mother is. 

The woman who was not the true mother was overjoyed with this ruling. Not having been blessed with children herself, she now had the opportunity, at least for half of the time, to be a mother to a child. She was now able to fill her need, again, if only for just half of the time.

The true mother protested. As a true mother, putting her child's needs before hers, she protested because she understood that this "arrangement" would hurt her child. She understood how detrimental it would be for her child to be raised by "two separate mothers"; hearing two different sets of messages, seeing two different standards, values, etc. She understood the importance of a child hearing the same message, wherever he goes, and the detriment of having a conflicting and divergent education.  

***

Let us be aware of the messages we give our children, whether through our words or, more importantly, our actions. And let us continue looking for ways to improve our children's Chinuch - improving in our own Avoda - and make sure the message we give is one and clear...

The one, clear message of the Torah.


* I recently heard this answer attributed to a Yechidus of the Rebbe with a Mechaneches. I will post the source when I find it.

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