Child's View

"I believe the children are our future,

"Teach them well and let them lead the way.

"Give them a sense of pride,

"To make it easier........"

I once read a news story about a semi-rig that got stuck under a low-clearance viaduct. Emergency workers were called in to strategize. Some suggested dismantling the truck's trailer; others, to use a crane with a special jack to raise the viaduct, or to hew out grooves in the pavement under the trucks wheels.

Nobody paid much attention to an earnest young boy who had a different suggestion. After all, this was a man's job, a job for experts. But the boy persisted, and what he suggested made so much sense that even the experts had to take notice.

He told the men to simply let the air out of the trucks tires.

Doubtless, most, if not all, of the plans offered that afternoon would have eventually gotten the truck out of the predicament. But unlike the adults who were trained, and therefore limited, by conventional reasoning, the boy was able to think out of the box and solve the conundrum with the most useful truth for that particular situation.

The experts should not be laughed at for failing to see what the boy saw. They should be commended for ultimately recognizing the usefulness of his truth, even though the source was neither expert, nor, for that matter, fully grown.

A great kabbalist expressed his wish that he could "pray like a child." A child connects directly to G‑d's essence. His perception of G‑d is true and pure, intrinsic and innate. His essential bond with G‑d transcends the levels of conscious awareness and he identifies with the G‑dly essence of his being. A highly intellectual Torah scholar's bond with G‑d is forged through his intellectual comprehension of G‑d's manifestations and attributes. He must struggle to relate to the point of it all--the essence of G‑d. Therefore a child possesses a certain advantage in his relationship with G‑d.

Recently, my cousin laughingly relayed her children's sense of joy, awe and excitement in their pre-occupation with Moshiach during their trip to Israel for Pesach. Smiling she said that they worked Moshiach into every conversation. A child's belief in and connection with G‑d is simple and pristine. Free from the Galut (exile) mentality that enslaved and restricted the adults, to them Moshiach was not a hope or a desire, but a fact. Their belief in and connection with G‑d, simple and pristine. At the kotel they excitedly exclaimed "if Moshiach comes this very minute we are going to be right in the front ready to greet him." When passing the Mount of Olives they commented on the good fortune of the people who are buried there since "they will have the first view of the Holy Temple as soon as Moshiach gets here."

They not only lived with the certainty of Moshiach during their waking hours but their Moshiach reality penetrated even during sleep. Their vivid dreams about Moshiach included images in which they envisioned themselves enveloped in soft fluffy clouds arriving at a gate that enclosed a huge mountain of mud then Moshiach arrived and the quagmire was transformed into paradise. Even when they had settled themselves on the plane anticipating their long journey home they discussed animatedly how "the plane would turn in midair and return to Jerusalem" if Moshiach arrived while they were traveling.

An unadulterated pure child-like relationship with G‑d can be shared by every Jew for the G‑dly essence of his being is the inherent fundamental birthright of each one of us. All that is necessary is to follow the example of the children and get beyond the "I" that stands in the way of acknowledging G‑d, and identifying with our true G‑dly reality.

In the words of the Holy Baal Shem Tov, "The wholesome simplicity of a simple Jew touches upon the utterly simple essence of G‑d."