Living Torah Archives

How many times does every parent ask him or herself: “Am I giving my child the very best that’s out there?” Here, the Rebbe argues that “the best” is not just wishful thinking, it’s an obligation.

Rabbi Osher Ehrenreich has served as dean of Bais Yaakov High School for Girls in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn for over six decades. In 1968, he and a group of supporters had an audience with the Rebbe.

The world seems to be so unstable these days. Time and again, the news is filled with stories of senseless violence in schools and on the streets. The politicians continue to debate on an appropriate response, but in the meantime, a generation of children is missing out on experiencing life to the fullest.

Shavi Slodowitz grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she attended Bais Rivkah High School. Being a somewhat difficult student, she lacked the motivation she needed to grow. In the most unusual way, the Rebbe channeled her passions into personal growth and academic success.

In the United States, there is much debate about the separation of government and religion.

“If you are concerned about your son’s move from a Jewish Day school to a more rigorous yeshivah, it would be advisable to find someone to tutor him once or twice a week. Boost his self-confidence by explaining to him that he is changing schools because he has become older and wiser, and is now capable of greater things.”

Parents are never satisfied to provide their children with the minimum, or even the average. For their own needs a father or mother might settle for less, but for their children they want only the greatest and the best they can provide. If this is so with food and clothing, which are quite temporary, how much more so when it comes to a child’s spiritual education, which impacts the rest of his or her entire life.