Independent Jewish Children

When it came to the Menorah in the Holy Temple, the commandment was to light it anew every day; and to light it, as Rashi says, “until the flame could rise up on its own.”

So too, each and every day, the first thing a Jew does in the morning is recite: “I offer thanks before You… for mercifully restoring my soul, I have great faith in You.” This underscores the fact that we are not thanking someone – a god, or an angel – who is distant, in some far off heaven… Rather, “I offer thanks before You” – G-d is right here beside each of us.

This is the primary tenet of educating Jewish children: His teaching must begin with the realization that he always stands before G-d, and is always in relationship with Him. Subsequently, in all areas of his life, he has ‘great faith’ – a constant faith, which grows steadily stronger, higher and higher, until ‘it rises on its own,’ like the light of the Menorah. The boy or girl will no longer need to ask their teachers for proofs and explanations in matters of faith – the faith will become his own ‘flame,’ part of his own soul, rising on its own and lifting him above all the challenges of life.