Toldot – The Mission of Education
Toldot – The Mission of Education
By Rabbi Ezra Friedman
Education is one of the most powerful tools in the world. It enables us to transmit deep and meaningful characteristics and skills to almost anyone. Education helps us learn how to become better people. It is ultimately, a way of bringing us closer to Hashem. One might assume that education is an easy and codified process but in fact, it is an incredibly difficult one, as we will see in this article. In fact, on a Jewish perspective, cookie cutter education can at times be harmful. Shlomo Hamelech with his sharp intellect coined a special term when it comes to education (Mishlei, 22, 6):
חֲנֹ֣ךְ לַ֭נַּעַר עַל־פִּ֣י דַרְכּ֑וֹ גַּ֥ם כִּֽי־יַ֝זְקִ֗ין לֹֽא־יָס֥וּר מִמֶּֽנָּה
Educate a child according to his path; and, even when old, he will not swerve from it.
Hashem made all humans completely different. As such, every individual has a different path to realize their greatness. There is of course common ground to education, whether it be teaching good deeds, Torah learning, or obtaining any sort of general knowledge. Shlomo Hamelech, however, points out that there is a unique way to educate each child, personally tailored to the child’s disposition.
Throughout the stories of our Forefathers, we find this idea that education is a very unique and personalized process. In this week’s Parsha, we learn about the second Jewish family in history, Yitchak and Rivkah. When their twin sons Esav and Yaacov were born the Torah describes their parents love for them (Breishit 25, 28):
וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יִצְחָ֛ק אֶת־עֵשָׂ֖ו כִּי־צַ֣יִד בְּפִ֑יו וְרִבְקָ֖ה אֹהֶ֥בֶת אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב
Yitz’chak loved Esav, because he had a taste for hunting and Rivkah had love for Ya‘akov.
Yaacov and Esav were very different and each had there own unique qualities. Yaacov was a quiet and humble scholar, while Esav was a man of the wilderness, a hunter. The Torah describes that each parent was more connected to one of the sons. This does not mean that Yitzchak or Rivkah loved one son over the other, rather they had a difference of opinion regarding which child was in need of greater attention. The Sages explain that Esav was ruthless and dishonest. It would seem that Yitzchak was naive to this by the fact that he favored Esav. However, the real explanation is that despite Yitzchak‘s knowledge of Esav‘s treachery, Yitzchak saw Esav‘s potential that he had leadership qualities. Yitzchak believed that if his skills were navigated in the right direction, he would succeed. This understanding can been seen by the wording of the verse, “Rivkah had love for Yaacov“, a constant and deep love, whilst “Yitzchak loved Esav“. The Torah uses the past tense to emphasize that Yitzchak‘s love for Esav‘s hunting skills were slightly superficial. In other words, he knew they could be dangerous. Rivkah was able to see that Esav was too far gone and that Yitzchak blessings should be bestowed on Yaacov instead. Here is just an example of how education can be complex. One would think that a father who had a son like Esav would try to distance him from his lifestyle but on the contrary Yitzchak tried to use this as a creative type of way to help guide Esav, using his own skills to try to educate him to serve Hashem.
We can see a similar diversity in education with Avraham and Yishmael. When Yitzchak is born, Sarah saw by prophecy that in order for Yitzchak to blossom, Yishmael and his mother Hagar had to go on their own path. Sarah told Avraham that Yishmael was dangerous and his behavior would hurt the family. At first Avraham was troubled with such an idea until Hashem Himself told Avraham to listen to Sarah. Even though it would seem cruel to send off Yishmael, in the end we see that Yishmael‘s future was saved as he was able to mature and become more independent. He built a family and returned to his father years later as a better human being.
When approaching the realm of education, we as Jews must build a special understanding that there is no one method for every child. Sometimes, a combination of different approaches may be deemed necessary at different times to produce the desired result. We must open our minds and hearts to be attentive to each child’s needs. The mission of education is tasking, yet it is the key to success.