How will we preserve the innocence, the genius and the beauty of the child into adulthood?
First, we will nurture that beauty from its very beginning. We will surround the child with Torah and sing to the child songs of wisdom even before it leaves the womb. We will help the child make his or her room into a sanctuary with holy books, a place to say prayers, and a charity box fixed into the wall, to be used daily.
And then, as the child emerges to discover that the world outside is not quite the same as that sanctuary, we will explain:
“Yes, this is not the way it is supposed to be. But it is only temporary. You and I and all of us, we are going to change it. We will make the whole big world like your little world, a sanctuary.”
Shavuot 5729, sicha 8. Simchat Torah 5741, sicha 17. Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, pg. 82ff.
Of good intentions is paved the road to hell. Very beautiful words, not simple words but words filled with good intentions Ah... good intentions; good animus; good purposes I know no more words to express the same idea. Unfortunately, popular knowledge is not easily surpassed and generally speaking is deeply rooted in the collective memory. In short, this adage supersedes today's Daily Dose of Wisdom in my town: Of good intentions is paved the road to hell.