Sephardic Judaism
Rabbi David Hertzberg writes:
“And G-d said to Moshe, ‘Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, say to them, that none of them may become tamei from a soul (corpse) of their nation’” (Vayikra 21:1). The Gemara (Yevamot 114a) questions the apparent redundancy of the verb say in the passuk. What does the second word sayadd to our understanding of this particular law? The Gemara answers that the first say refers to Moshe’s obligation to teach the Kohanim the mitzvah of refraining from coming into contact with a corpse.
The second say refers to the obligation incumbent upon the Kohanim themselves to teach their children the importance of remaining tahor (spiritually pure) and distancing themselves from tumah (spiritual impurity).
The commentators universalized this Gemara and, over the years, have used it as a model for education in general, as well as for the responsibilities of leaders toward their followers. Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, in his commentary Oznayim L’Torah, explains that the double use of the word say is meant to teach us the approach necessary to employ in order to educate our children in a society, which is often at odds with our values.
The only way to ensure that our children incorporate our values into their lives when they are constantly being exposed to counter-Torah values is by continuously repeating and reinforcing our messages and lessons to them. The Torah’s repeated use of the word say teaches us the necessity “to keep at it.”
Rav Menachem Zaks (Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank’s son-in-law) in his work Menachem Tzion also supports the idea that the Torah’s repeated use of the word say is prescriptive in nature, but suggests a different approach. When it comes to trying to influence a person, whether to buy something or to buy into something, we never know what words will actually penetrate the person and get him on board. This is true whether you’re a leader of an organization trying to convince people to join and work for a cause, or a parent trying to teach your children values.
You must be prepared to approach from different angles with the hope that at some point the message will enter your children’s hearts. The double use of the word say instructs us to always keep searching for ways to inspire our children. Eventually, if we persevere, our children will get the message.
Another explanation of the repeated use of the word say is that the Torah, through its careful use of language, is indicating to us the urgency involved in the mitzvah of chinuch. If early and zealous performance of mitzvot, is in general a requirement, it is even more so when it comes to teaching our children. On the broadest level, educating our children in the Torah’s values must begin at the earliest possible moment.
On a more specific level, there will be different times in our children’s lives – perhaps mere minutes at a time – when they will be open and primed to really hear what we have to say. Our antennae must be up for such moments and we must be prepared to exploit them immediately. Even pushing our children off for a few minutes might be too long.
A child’s interest, especially a teenager’s, is very transitory and fleeting. The window of opportunity does not remain open for long. By its repeated use of the word say the Torah commands us to be alert to such educational opportunities and to expeditiously take advantage of them.
Several years ago when speaking somewhere, I emphasized the importance of this idea. I explained that when educational opportunities present themselves we must be prepared to drop everything in an instant. When I finished my talk, a gentleman came over to me and told me the following story, which he encouraged me to relate to help other people. He informed me that 10 years ago his 18-year-old son was “off the derech.” Although he shared the details with me, suffice it to say that the young man was very confused and had some serious issues.
“One day out of the blue,” the man said “my son told me he wanted to go to Israel to learn in a yeshiva.” The man related that his initial impression was that his son was joking around and being spiteful. “But I decided to take him seriously and put him in touch with people who could find him the right school.” With a smile on his face the man said “To make a long story short, today (10 years later) my son is himself a rebbi in a Yeshiva” Grabbing my hand, the man, with tears of joy in his eyes, concluded his story by saying, “It’s like you said, Rabbi – when the moment arrives you have to grab it. Had I not taken my son seriously at the moment he came to me or had I pushed him off I would have lost him to Yiddishkeit.”
Whether we’re talking to our children, teaching our students or leading our followers, we would be wise to incorporate the many lessons the rabbis have gleaned from the Torah’s double use of the word say. To succeed we must constantly reinforce our message, while always trying new approaches and never forgetting the urgency and importance of our endeavor. As the adage states: “Opportunity doesn’t knock twice.”
Rabbi David Hertzberg is the principal of the Yeshivah of Flatbush Middle Division. Questions and comments can be emailed to him at Mdrabbi@aol.com.
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