Weekly Story: A Teacher Should….

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon 

This past week was the kinus (conference) of the mechanchim (male educators), while this upcoming week will be the kinus of the mechanchos (female educators). In the past two weeks, I have witnessed and heard two points which to me has a very strong bearing on the chinuch of our children, and I would like to share them with you. 

I realize that not every mechanech and madrich is going to agree with me, and some might say that I am wrong. But if it even creates a conversation and ultimately helps even a few children, the effort was worth it.

As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcomed. 

Last week I attended a Bris of a firstborn child, and the Sandek was the former Yeshiva teacher or Mashpia of the infants’ father. He came in from out of town and then by the Bris not only did he and the father of the child embrace, but all of the father’s friends who were with him some years ago in the Yeshiva also hugged their teacher. 

After the Bris, the two of us sat down for a little conversation and I told him how happy I was to see him maintaining a connection with his former students. He replied that in his opinion if you have a connection with them when they are in your class and your school, that connection will remain even after they move on and have their own families. And if a connection and bond did not remain, perhaps the connection that you thought you had forged with your students while they were in your class, was not as strong as you believed it to be.

Story number 2 

I learn with someone every Sunday afternoon, and this Sunday he mentioned to me that over 50 years ago, when he was a student in Kfar Chabad, there were two staff members that he feels went beyond their Call of Duty and really took an interest in him, and whatever I may have accomplished is because of them. I believe he continued that the other staff members showed an interest to other students and helped them make progress.

But my main source of inspiration came from other (elder) chassidim. It came about on the days that I decided to try to daven properly. So on those days I would daven in the local shul. And to my amazement the Elder chasidim there, Reb Fouly Kahan, Reb Nochum Trebnik and others, who technically had no responsibility to me, came over and showed a genuine interest in my well-being and showed me warmth by sharing with me thoughts about how a chossid conducts themselves and davens. 

That reminded me of an incident of around 35 years ago, when I was a teacher in the 7th grade of the Lubavitch Yeshiva on Ocean Parkway. My principal, Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky, told me that on Sunday he is going to get a substitute for my class, as Torah Umesorah is having a work session specifically for 7th grade teachers. After participating in a few sessions and lectures with around twenty other mechanchim, there was a session where all the teachers were able to ask a Rov questions that were chinuch related. 

One of the questions that was presented was, being that in a class of 20 to 25 students in the 7th grade, you are probably going to have around fifteen students that would becoming Bar Mitzvah during the school year, so my question is; how much time is a teacher obligated to be at the bar mitzvah? He explained that it interferes with his learning in the evening and could also interfere with the amount of help he provides in the home Etc. 

The Rov responded that as long as you are consistent, even 5 to 10 minutes of coming over and saying I am wishing the student and his family mazel tov is sufficient. 

To me personally, that was quite shocking as I felt that being that Rashi explains on the Possuk V’shinantom L’ vuneicho that our children here, is referring to your students, so if our sages tell us that our students are our children, would I stay only 5-10 minutes at the bar Mitzvah even of a dear friend’s child not alone my own children! 

Furthermore, I have heard students speack negatively about some teachers who in their words, just came as an obligation, as he really doesn’t like me. When a student has that thought in their head, while it all probability it is false, but if that is their perspective, that could destroy that academic school year, and who knows how difficult it will be for the next teacher to correct it.

However, being that I was the only Lubavitcher there, I kept my thoughts to myself. But this question has always been at the forefront of my mind. 

Yes, It is extremely important or perhaps vital for teachers to take courses and learn the techniques of classroom management and how to prepare and present a lesson, which is one of the main functions of these teachers conferences. But that is the mechanics or structure of the classroom. I feel that before that, there must be a tremendous emphasis on the heart and spirit of the mission.

Let us visualize the following two scenarios and think of what the response to each one will be.

A college student shows up to the Chabad House or to the Shliachs house on Shabbos, smoking a cigarette and scrolling on their phone. What do you think the Schlaich’s reaction would be?

Scenario number two, a student turns around in middle of class and asks the student sitting behind him/ her, “Please stop banging your foot on my chair,” and the teacher didn’t hear what the student said. But the student definitely turned around and spoke to another student, while the teacher was talking/teachingWhat is the teachers reaction to that? And what would the teachers reaction be if the student is somewhat clumsy and drops their supplies all over?

While there are definitely some teachers who would give the student the benefit of doubt, and speak to the student during a break, to ask what had happened, for too many students that was not the experience they encountered.

The question is why shouldn’t the teacher embrace every student, just as the shliach welcomes every wanderer into their house, even if the student did something wrong and especially when the child feels that they acted appropriately? They didn’t make a commotion, all they did was asking to stop bamging their chair. Or as a young student sais to me, My teacher punished me, when I picked up a pencil and handed it to the one who dropped it. 

Yes, there has to be proper decorum and class management. But the first feeling that a student needs to feel is that the teacher likes me and wants me to succeed in their classroom.

Another aspect why is it so difficult for boys to be accepted into Mesivta’s? Yes, they are not all perfect, But are our Mesivta’s made just for the perfect child? 

In my experience, the vast majority of students want to find favor in the eyes of the teacher and would work hard to achieve that, when they feel that the teacher is genuinely interested in their well-being. 

A Taste of Chassidus 

ויאכלך את המן אשר לא ידעונמ אבותיך Likkutei Torah Devorim p. 13C

In this maamar, the Alter Rebbe clarifies a point that otherwise might seem as a contradiction. 

In the month of Elul we blow a shofar in order to awaken ourselves and to truly fear Hashem. To bring out this point, our sages use the possuk אריה שאג מי לא יראה – would someone not tremble when they hear a lion roar? Additionally, the word אריה has the same letters of יראה, which means fear. So we see that a lion is connected to the feeling of fear, which is the basic concept of the month of Elel through Yom Kippur.

Yet, the source of lions comes from the lion that is on the right side of Hashem’s throne, and Kabbalah and Chassudus teach that the right symbolizes kindness and love. 

So the question is, what trait does the lion symbolize, love or fear?

On that, the Alter Rebbe answers, it is connected to both, and he demonstrates that with/by using the service of the months of Elul and Tishrei, as will be explained. 

Our sages guide us to blow a shofar from the beginning of the month of Elul, to remind us that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is coming upon us. And the sound of a shofar is compared to the roar of the lion that evokes fear. 

However, when does one experience fear of the king, that is when they are in the presence of the king, and the closer you are to the king, the greater your fear becomes. 

In other words, when the king is concealed from you, and you don’t feel his presence, then you don’t fear him. But when you are invited to meet him, the closer you come to the royal throne room, the stronger and more overwhelming is the fear of him.

So yes, the lion on the right side of the Heavenly throne signifies Hashem’s tremendous love to us, that He is willing and actually reveals His radiance to us. However, we who are extremely limited and fragile, cannot contain that immense revelation and we begin to tremble in fear.

The only way we are able to receive and contain a G-dly revelation is when Hashem conceals His radiance and glory to such a degree that we don’t feel or recognize that it is  G-dly in nature. That concealment comes from the Ox which stands on the left side of the Heavenly throne. And as is known left symbolizes strictness (which is a form of holding back or concealment). That invokes in us a feeling of longing and desire to come closer to Hashem. Just like when a parent hides from their child, that causes the child to begin searching for their parent. 

This love that is born out from concealment is called אהבת עולם, as the word העולם is comprised from the word העלם, which means concealment.

We say on Shabbos after mincha אדם ובהמה, that is expressing the concept that Yirmiyahu mentioned in a prophecy, that there are lofty נשמות, which are called אדם and then there are regular נשמות which are called בהמה as the Navi says וזרעתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה זרע אדם וזרע בהמה. 

The lower Neshomos serve Hashem with either the emotion of love or the emotion of fear. While the higher level of Neshomos serve Hashem through studying His Torah.

However, there is another possuk where Hashem admonishes Yonah and says; You had compassion for the vine which you did not toil on and I should not have compassion on the metropolis of Ninveh that has over 1.2 Million inhabitants and בהמה רבה?!

While the simple meaning of this possuk means that it has even more animals than people, Chassidus learns from here that there is a level of a soul of בהמה that is even loftier than the soul of the level of אדם, and that soul comes from a place where Hashem is so removed from the world that at that level to Him there is no difference between human and mammal.

The basis for this thought is because the possuk says, ואני בער ולא אדע, בהמות הייתי עמך. Being that it says בהמות in the plural sense, that shows that there are (at least) two levels of Neshomos that are on the level of בהמה. Previously we explained that an animal symbolizes emotions, which are lower than intellect, which is symbolized by mankind. So the second level of  the animal, is one that is also not connected to intellect, but this time it is because it is higher than intellect.

The Alter Rebbe discussed this in order to clarify what the possuk in this parsha notes about the Muhn. The possuk states that Hashem gave/fed us the Muhn, which even the forefathers did not know. Being that it was never in existence before, it is obvious that they weren’t acquainted with it. Therefore, Chassidus explains that it means that when Hashem was giving us the Muhn, essentially He was giving us a level that He did not even share with the Avos. As the possuk states that now because of the Muhn you will come to know that man doesn’t live just because of the food he eats, but he lives because of the word of Hashem that is in the food. So the question becomes what is that level?

The Muhn came down surrounded by dew, and the Navi states that Hashem will resurrect the dead with dew. We say in Shemone Esreh, Hashem will resurrect the dead with tremendous compassion, consequently, the Muhn is associated with the level from where Hashem’s tremendous compassion comes from. 

Generally speaking, one has compassion on the needy and those who find themselves in difficult situations and sad circumstances. The greater the need, the stronger the feeling of compassion is. Or in other words, the more exalted a person is from the needy, the more compassion they feel and express for it.

Simply put, we all know of people who are struggling, so why do we feel a need to help some more than the others? 

The honest truth is, we think that that group can take care of themselves and overcome or perhaps even triumph over their situation and are not dependant on anyone’s assistance, while the other for whatever reason won’t be able to overcome it on their own.

So when the person finally understands the tremendous pity that is on his Neshoma, he realizes that this that he thought is the source of his Neshoma, his connection to the Torah (as a Neshoma of אדם thinks), he realizes that even Chachmah, which is the highest level of Atzilus, it also is considered by Hashem an equal to the lowest level in the world, as Hashem is so exalted over both of them. This arouses in the person a passion of tremendous love and desire to become truly connected with Hashem. This level of love is much higher than the Ahavas Olam and is called Ahava Raףbu.

The proof that the Torah as it is in this world is only a minscule of of its true essence is from the Muhn which is surrounded by the  dew.

Just as the dew was completely spiritual and therefore there was no excrement from it, but nevertheless, the way it came down, already ground up as regular fhysical food, so too the Torah is truly above the limitations of the world, yet Hashem lowered it down that it deals with the physical world, but it remains G-dly and retains all of its holiness.

When the person recognizes this truth it evokes in him such a powerful desire to become connected and one with Hashem, and this love is called אהבה רבה.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeiim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at [email protected].