Torah Big Idea #16 Children Need Spirituality

Shmot(Exodus)

I’ll admit it … my favorite reels on social media feature kids doing crazy things. Sometimes they’re cursing (yup, that’s so funny!) Sometimes they’re performing music or sports in a truly genius way. Sometimes they’re simply stating the obvious about life but in their own pure and elegant way.

Not surprisingly, Judaism has prioritized the education of children long before they were entertaining on social media.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l (Studies in Spirituality) teaches something revealing from the Book of Exodus. When Moses is preparing the Israelites for the 10th Plague – the death of the firstborn Egyptian – and is convincing them that it is finally time to leave their bonds of slavery – Moses does so with words about their children.

And when your children ask you … And you shall explain to your child … And when, in time to come your child asks you … (Exodus 12 – 13)

Three times, in his pitch for the Exodus, Moses mentions the children. Moses knows that the key motivator for any parent is the children.

Moses could have persuaded the Israelites with descriptions of Israel flowing with milk and honey. Or a painfree life of freedom, or the merit of being in God’s protection on the journey through the desert, or the justice of finally defeating an enemy.

Instead, Moses skips over all the immediate years and focuses instead on the next generation.

After 250 years of slavery, Moses knew the Israelites could not even consider their own fortune. The only attraction of the Exodus was a better future for their children.

Rabbi Sacks elaborates that it’s not only children themselves but the spiritual power of children that has persevered.

Children are naturally spiritual – asking questions and being in awe of the world. Our job as educators, parents and adults is first to honor their quest. To deprive them of their natural spirituality is cutting off an essential aspect of their nature.

From a Jewish perspective, our job is also to provide a family story. We invite children to be part of Jewish history, Jewish tradition and Jewish values. We welcome them into a meaningful and ancient tradition that is built into their identity in infancy and expanded through education.

Nothing feels more loving as a child (or as an adult!) as the feeling of belonging. By framing the Exodus as a gift to the Israelite children, Moses persuades the Israelites finally to set off into the unknown. And by formulating our Exodus narrative into a family story shared over the generations we equip Jewish children with a deep sense of where they come from and what their mission is in the world.

May we continue to embrace children’s spirituality and follow our ancestors’ example of telling our Jewish stories in formal and informal ways.