Emor: The Torah Definition of Chinuch

“Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon and say to them…”

The double expression in this introductory pasuk to our parsha is far from a random repetition or mistake. The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that the pasuk itself is one of the sources for chinuch. Delving into the wording of the pasuk allows us to glean much about the Torah definition of chinuch.

Rashi comments on the pasuk that the double expression indicates the need for the older Kohanim to teach the younger ones. The Kohanim must be taught the laws of tuma and tahara and all their duties, yet the future kohanim must all learn what their fathers do so that the chain will continue. Indeed, the laws must be “said” and then “said to them.” Halacha continues through transmission to our children.

It is our responsibility, as parents and teachers, to watch over our young who are truly the kohanim of the world – especially when they are of an age where they cannot distinguish the pure from the impure. In the Torah, it is the complex laws of ritual impurity that the older Kohanim must uphold in the younger kohanim who may not know. In our days, it is kedusha in general. We don’t want our children to become tamei nefesh in a spiritual sense. It is our job to preserve their purity, to watch over them and to guard what they see and what they listen to.

Interestingly, the word Rashi uses is “lehazhir” to instruct which is related to the word “zohar” which means to shine or an illumination. Teaching Torah, especially the intricate laws of tuma and tahara must be done with light. To show the beauty of our Torah to our children and our students. As discussed in a previous Emor article, this is why the soft word for speech “emor” is used rather than the harsher word “daber.” These priestly laws must be given over with light and with love.

We do not need to attempt to glamourize Torah and try to fit it into our modern times. Parents and educators do not need to worry about making Torah “cool” or palatable. When we are teaching Torah in its purest form, it is zohar, it is light. It is pristine, it is perfect and like a bright light, it shines with dazzling clarity. When we give it over in this manner, our young will be drawn to its light.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the idea of “lehazhir” differently. He taught that the students provide the illumination for the teachers, the children are the light for the parents. When we teach Torah, more than the youngster we are educating and hopefully influencing and molding, we ourselves are elevated. We are illuminated. Parents and teachers are blessed because through providing chinuch, we are inspired anew. Our children and students allow us to appreciate and absorb Torah with fresh eyes.

The Gemara in Taanit (7a) writes beautifully about the impact of our students. The Gemara asks why Torah is compared to a tree and it answers that just a small piece of wood can ignite a large piece of wood, so too can lesser talmidei chachamim sharpen greater ones. Our children and students are our small pieces of wood. Though on paper we may know more, it is their questions which encourage us to deepen our understanding, clarify our perspective and ignite our Yiddishkeit in general. In the words of Rabbi Chanina: “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my friends but most from my students.”

Our Seder would be incomplete without the Mah Nishtana of our children. In fact the entire Seder night would be lacking without the curious questioning of our youngsters whose temimut leads us to experience yetziat mitzrayim with fresh eyes. It is the chinuch of seder night which illuminates us and prepares us to receive the eitz chaim (tree of life) of Shavuot.

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffman comments on the repetition in the pasuk about teaching kohanim “say” and “say to them.” He writes that the Torah is giving us guidance and encouragement in educating our children: we should expect a lot of repetition. We should expect to tell them and then tell them again. Middot, halachot, emotional regulation – it all takes time to integrate. We need to help our children, and then help them again when they lose their way. We should expect it to take multiple occasions to pass on a value to our children, yet we should not skip over any of the opportunities because each has an impact, even if invisible. We are planting seeds when we educate our children and students and we must water them drop by drop, over and over¹.

The Gemara² records that Rav Preida would teach a certain student the material 400 times over until he understood it. If such a great talmid chacham could have the patience to teach a student over and over, so too we as parents should aspire to adopt a willingness to lovingly demonstrate our values to our children over and over until it penetrates. In some way, teaching a child hakarat hatov or responsibility or any other value can be even more challenging than teaching them a complex Gemara. Yet, as mothers in particular, it is our role and our privilege to work on our chinuch all the years our children are young and try to inculcate the values and hashkafot which the Torah holds so dear.

May we be zoche to educate in a way that is not only instruction, but illumination!