Rescuing the Captives: Teaching Children Torah and Yiras Shamayim

1“And Avram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, and he armed his trained men, those born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan.”¹ Rashi explains the word chanichav, “his trained men”: “It is written chanicho, in the singular: this is Eliezer, whom he had trained in mitzvos. The word means starting a person or a utensil in the work for which it is destined, as in ‘Chanoch, train, a youth,’ ‘the chanukas, dedication, of the altar,’ ‘the chanukas, dedication, of the House.’” So far his words.² This raises two questions. Why does a verse about a battle speak of training in mitzvos? And why does it matter to us that Avraham pursued them as far as Dan in particular?

2aWe may explain this by way of derush, homiletic interpretation, starting from some teachings of Chazal about Avraham. On the verse “and the souls that they had made in Charan,” Chazal said: “R' Elazar bar Zimra said: If everyone in the world gathered together to create even a single gnat, they could not put a soul into it. Yet you say, ‘and the souls that they had made’? Rather, these are the converts they had made.”³ Chazal also said, “At three years old Avraham recognized his Creator.”⁴ On “and he called there in the name of Hashem, God of the world,” they said: “Do not read vayikra, ‘he called,’ but vayakri, ‘he made others call.’ This teaches that Avraham Avinu had every passerby call out the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He.”⁵ And the Rambam writes that Avraham Avinu went from city to city and from kingdom to kingdom to spread faith in Hashem.⁶

2bThe people of that generation were like captive children, who did not know Hashem. This is the meaning of “And Avram heard that his brother had been taken captive”; the word achiv, “his kinsman,” literally means “his brother.” Avraham heard and understood that his brothers, the people of his generation, were like captive children, far from the faith. And what did he do to rescue them? “He armed his trained men”: he came and trained them in mitzvos. This is the meaning of “those born in his house,” in the spirit of Chazal's words: “Whoever teaches his fellow's son Torah, Scripture counts it as though he had given birth to him.”⁷ He also founded a yeshivah for them. We find the same in the Gemara, where Chazal said on “He armed …”: “Rav said: he armed them with Torah.”⁸ Their words show that they read this verse as speaking of Torah.

3Along the same lines we can explain the end of the verse, “as far as Dan.” Avraham Avinu taught them Torah until they were fit ladun, to judge, a word that sounds like Dan. As Chazal said: “A certain man would say, ‘Judge my case.’ They said: Learn from this that he comes from the tribe of Dan, as it is written, ‘Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.’”⁹ It is also like Chazal's words about the days of King Chizkiyahu: “They searched from Dan to Be'er Sheva,” from one end of the Land to the other, “and found no ignorant person.”¹⁰ So the words “as far as Dan” hint at how far Avraham Avinu taught and spread Torah in the world: so far that everyone who gathered around him fulfilled “And all your children shall be learned of Hashem.”¹¹

4Thank God, we see the same in our own times. On one side, we see “his brother had been taken captive” fulfilled among us, for many of our brothers are straying from the path, like captive children. But on the other side we see, thank God, splendid Torah institutions being built, filled with precious children who seek Hashem. How great is the merit of all who help to found and support a Talmud Torah, a Torah school for young children! This is true first and foremost of the generous people who give of their wealth for it. It is true also of the teachers of young children, of whom Chazal said: “‘And the wise shall shine like the radiance of the firmament, and those who bring the many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever’: these are the teachers of young children.”¹² When we see this here in this city, the heart fills with joy. Whoever sees it can only give the blessing from Chazal's parable of “a tree whose fruit is sweet … and a stream of water flows beneath it …”: “May it be His will that all the saplings planted from you be like you.”¹³ So too in our case: with what shall I bless you? If with Torah, you already have Torah. If with greatness, you already have greatness. Rather, may it be His will that your children be like you.

5aOn this occasion I would like to draw attention to a few points about educating schoolchildren. Chazal said: “Who are the guardians of the city? The teachers of Scripture and the teachers of Mishnah. … If you see towns in Eretz Yisrael uprooted from their place, know that they did not keep up the wages of the teachers of Scripture and Mishnah.”¹⁴ This shows how great it is to teach Torah to schoolchildren. Yet we must remember that, great as it is to teach children Torah, the main thing is to educate them in yiras Shamayim, the fear of Heaven, for “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem.”¹⁵

5bAs is well known, the holy Rebbe of Kotzk, zt"l, once said to someone who had finished the whole Gemara: “True, you have learned the Gemara. But what has the Gemara taught you?” Here lies the great difference between the Torah and the lesser wisdom of the nations of the world. A person can learn all of their wisdom and still behave exactly as before; nothing in it asks him to change his ways. But for Klal Yisrael, the word Torah comes from hora'ah, instruction, for the Torah comes to teach us good middos, fine character traits, and yiras Shamayim.¹⁶ As Chazal said of a person who learns Torah and deals pleasantly with people: “What do people say about him? ‘Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah; fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah. Woe to people who have not learned Torah! So-and-so learned Torah: see how pleasant his ways are, how refined his deeds!’ Of him the verse says, ‘And He said to me: You are My servant, Israel, in whom I take glory.’”¹⁷

6How, then, does one come to yiras Shamayim? We can learn it from the verse “And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you, but to fear.”¹⁸ Chazal expounded: “Do not read mah, ‘what,’ but me'ah, ‘a hundred’”: a hundred blessings each day.¹⁹ So the way to this fear is to strengthen oneself and take care to say the blessings properly. As Chazal said, “One who wishes to be pious should keep the teachings of Berachos,” the laws of blessings.²⁰ This is a great foundation for gaining yiras Shamayim and for recognizing “the One Who spoke and the world came into being.” When a person blesses and thanks Hashem, blessed be He, for every pleasure and for His kindnesses, he recognizes and acknowledges that the whole world and all it holds comes from Him.

7My holy father and teacher, zt"l, constantly urged people to take care with the blessings, and he worked in several ways to strengthen this practice. So I turn to you, precious children, and urge you as well. And I turn to the teachers: set special classes twice a week to learn together the laws of the blessings over food and other pleasures, and the laws of Shabbos. Then it will be fulfilled in you: “Whoever studies halachos every day is assured that he is destined for the World to Come,” and “And all your children shall be learned of Hashem.”²¹