By Chaya Sora Jungreis-Gertzulin

Back to school. Are we up to that already? Where did the summer go? Do I spy school supplies on the store shelves?

From backpacks to school shoes, we are so busy with the fall shopping frenzy. We want to send our children off with everything just right. But there is something meaningful that is often forgotten. Something that gives our children a boost and remains a forever memory. A loving bracha.

Every year, before the first day of school, our parents would take us to our grandparents, Mama and Zeide, for a bracha to have a good school year. I remember Zeide lovingly placing his hands over my head, wishing me hatzlacha, success. Words of bracha, that the Torah we learn should penetrate both heart and mind. It goes back many years, but the memory is indelible.

What could be more meaningful. What could be more important.

I grew up in a “brachos giving” family. Every occasion was an opportunity for a bracha. From Bar Mitzvas to chasunos, even simply walking out the door, was a reason for my mother to say “be matzliach”, be successful. Even on chaotic mornings (like “I can’t find my shoe”), I heard “be matzliach”. I have long forgotten what my briefcase (yes…. It was pre “backpack” days) or my school shoes looked like, but the words of bracha remain.

It was only years later that I came to appreciate the depth of my mother’s words. In Hebrew, hatzlacha, success, is spelled hei-tzadi-lamed-ches-hei. If we rearrange the middle three letters, tzadi-lamed-ches to lamed-ches-tzadi, it forms the word lachatz, meaning stress or pressure. In Hebrew, Lashon haKodesh, the Holy Tongue, each word, every letter, comes with a meaning, a subtle life lesson. Hatzlacha and lachatz, success and stress. The belief that following challenge comes success. That stress is not made to break you, but to make you. The word hatzlacha begins with a hei and concludes with a hei. A message that HaShem is constantly with us, from beginning to end. A message not just for back-to-schoolers, but for all of us. We all have our share of lachatz. Be it work, finances, relationships, children – so many life pressures. But always keep in mind that after lachatz we can find hatzlacha.

When I was studying the story of Yosef HaTzaddik, my mother’s words came back to me. The Chumash describes Yosef as an “ish matzliach”, a man of success. How do we define success? At first glance, Yosef’s life was not your typical success story. He was ridiculed by his brothers, sold to a group of merchants, who in turn sold him as a slave. He was falsely accused and imprisoned by his master. Yet, he is called “a man of success”.

Rabbi Samson Rephael Hirsch describes Yosef’s success as “progress towards a goal by means of overcoming every obstacle”. Despite enduring so much difficulty, Yosef never lost his faith, but remained strong and steadfast in his emuna.

Reflecting upon Rav Hirsch’s words, the bracha of “be matzliach” takes on even greater meaning. To overcome challenges no matter where life takes you.

A parent’s bracha. There is a story about a young widow living in Yerushalayim. She had a troubled son, who began acting up in school. At first, it was small acts of mischief. But with time, his pranks escalated and he began to have a negative influence upon his classmates.

The boy was warned time and time again. First by his rebbi and then by the Rosh Yeshiva. But it was all to no avail. It got to the point where they felt the need to expel him from the school. The Rosh Yeshiva spoke to the boy’s mother, telling her that the school wasn’t a good fit for her son, and that she should find another option.

The young widow broke down in tears. She didn’t make excuses for her son or defend his behavior. Instead, she begged the Rosh Yeshiva to give her time. Time to daven on behalf of her child. With a pained voice, she said that she had not been given prior warning. She needed time to turn to HaShem and daven, for there is nothing as powerful as a mother’s tefillos.

But the Rosh Yeshiva wasn’t swayed. He had made his decision and was not about to back down. The mother asked that they go together to a third party, a leading rov in Eretz Yisroel and ask for his guidance.

They did. After hearing them out, the rov agreed that the mother should first be given the opportunity to daven for her son. Time to beseech HaShem to help her son turn over a new leaf. A mother’s prayers can work miracles. It is now Chodesh Elul. A time of new beginnings and clean slates. Of turning to HaShem with tefillos. It is “back-to-school” time for each of us. New beginnings for us all. Let’s use our time wisely. To daven for our children. To give them our brachos. To wish them hatzlacha. They may not show their appreciation at first. You might even get some eye-rolling. But the words will enter their hearts, and the memories will stay.

Give a bracha. Create a memory. Make a difference.

As the New Year approaches, I wish all my readers – be matzliach. Have hatzlacha. And, as the word hatzlacha teaches, HaShem is with us at all times – from beginning to end.