14 Nov TOLDOS: TEACHING EMUNAH

When we teach
emunah, we receive

Hashem’s brachos.
Avraham Avinu would teach emunah when
he performed hachnasas orchim. He would
tell his guests, “Do you think you ate my
food? Don’t thank me. Thank the One Who
created the world and Who gave you the
food” (see Rashi, Bereishis 21:33). In this
way, he taught people about Hashem.
The Rambam (Hilchos Avodas Kochavim
1:2) writes, “[Avraham] told people that it is
proper to serve Hashem and that they should
bow to Him… He called forth in a loud
voice to the entire world that they should
know that there is one G-d in the world, and
we should serve Him alone. Avraham would
go from city to city and from country to
country, and he would call out, and he built
up a following until he came to Eretz
Yisrael, and he proclaimed [the emunah
there] as it states (Bereishis 21:33) ‘ He
called in Hashem’s name.’”
Hashem loves those who teach others to
believe in Him and to go in His ways.
Therefore, to become a melamed/teacher is

a great privilege because it is an opportunity
to train young children in emunah and to go
in Hashem’s ways. But it is also a great
responsibility.
The Baal HaTanya hired a melamed to
study with his young son, Rebbe Dov Ber
(who later became renowned as the Mitteler
Rebbe zt’l). The
Baal HaTanya
said to the
melamed, “Be
aware that you
are doing
H a s h e m ’ s
service, and it is a
matter of life and
death, because
your students’
spiritual life is in
your hands, and
spiritual life is more crucial than physical
life. If you do your service well, you will
earn credit for all the good deeds the
children do, and you earn the merits of their
children and their grandchildren forever.
But if you don’t teach well, the children’s
failure is because of you. Everything is in
your hands. Think about this before you
begin to teach, and Hashem will help you
establish and mold good students. Your

portion will be together with the great
tzaddikim.”
Parents also have the incredible merit of
training their children in emunah and in
going in Hashem’s ways. However, they
also have a great responsibility. They must
know that everything is in their hands. If
they educate their
children well, they
will be rewarded for
their children’s
success and the
success of their
future generations.
But if they are
negligent, they will
be held responsible.
Hashem told
Moshe Rabbeinu to
appoint Yehoshua as
his successor. Hashem said (Devarim 27:18)
“Take Yehoshuah,” and Rashi explains that
Moshe should take Yehoshua with words by
telling him, “You are fortunate! You were
granted the merit to lead Hashem’s
children.”
Reb Shlomke of Zvhil zt’l said that a bas
kol proclaims these words every day, to
every melamed (and sometimes, when the
melamed needs more chizuk, the bas kol
will say it to him twice a day): “You are
fortunate because you were granted the
privilege to lead Hashem’s children.”
We add that the bas kol probably says
these words every day to parents: “You
are fortunate because you were granted
the privilege to lead Hashem’s children.”
Rebbe Shlomke of Zvhil said that
studying a daf Gemara on Shabbos is
equivalent to studying five hundred blatt
Gemara on a weekday. A chapter of
Tehillim on Shabbos is equivalent to
five hundred chapters of Tehillim on a
weekday. We add that an hour of singing
zemiros with the family on Shabbos is
equivalent to five hundred such hours
during the weekday.
One of the antidotes against the yetzer
hara is to sing songs to Hashem. The joy
and inspiration of a nigun overpowers
the lure of gashmiyos. Singing with the
children on Shabbos is five hundred
times more powerful and influential
than a weekday.
So, sing with the family and show
them the joy of Yiddishkeit. This is one
of the ways we teach our children to go
in Hashem’s ways.

Reb Yonoson Chever Shlita, son-in-
law of the mashgiach Reb Dov Yafo zt’l,

related that one Shabbos morning, while
reciting pesukei d’zimra in a room near

the beis medresh, he
overheard the
conversation of two
young children, who
were pretending to
learn Gemara. They
were seated in front
of large Gemaros and
sang the Gemara tune (although they
couldn’t yet read the words).
One child sang, Assur Assur Assur. The
second child asked, Assur Assur Assur? And
the other boy replied, more forcefully this
time, Assur Assur Assur! “Forbidden!
Forbidden! Forbidden!”
That week, Reb Yonoson Chever ate the
Shabbos seudah at his father-in-law’s home,
Reb Dov Yafo, and repeated this episode,
wanting to share what he thought was a cute
story of two young children.
However, hearing the story, Reb Dov Yafo
became visibly upset. He stood up and said,
“I must go speak to their father now.
The Rebbetzin and the family tried to
explain to Reb Yafo that it was just two
children playing, but Reb Yafo wasn’t
calmed.
The Rebbetzin said, “But if you go to him
now, while he is eating his seudah, he will
be startled. If you feel you must speak to
him, better push it off for later.”
Reb Yafo accepted her advice.
Later in the day, Reb Yafo spoke to the
father, explaining that a child mustn’t think
of Yiddishkeit as Assur Assur Assur, that
everything is forbidden. He should associate
Yiddishkeit with joy and sweetness. Having
negative, stifling views on Yiddishkeit
could chalilah have terrible consequences.
The father didn’t take Reb Dov Yafo’s
warning seriously. Eventually, both children
fell off the derech and became irreligious,
r’l.
A mashal is told about a storeowner in a
small town who sometimes got angry and
shouted at his customers. He wasn’t afraid
they wouldn’t return to his store because
they didn’t have anywhere else to go. But
then a competitor opened another grocery in
the small town. Now he was careful to
speak respectfully to all customers because
he knew that if they felt slighted, they may
opt to go to the other store instead.
The nimshal is, in our generation, children
have where to go. If parents don’t show
them love and instead shout and belittle
them, the children might decide to find
solace elsewhere, outside the house. So, we
need to be cautious to demonstrate to our
children that they are always loved, wanted,
and respected for who they are.