When G-d presents you with major life choices and challenges, such as the decision to send your child to a free public school or to pay for a solid Torah based education, it’s usually both a test and an invitation to connect with Him on an increasingly deeper and more meaningful spiritual level. This is true of yourself and your child.
Yes, Torah based Jewish education can be expensive. But it’s also incredibly enriching and protective in every conceivable sense. A good Jewish education is a means of insuring that your child is connecting with the deep spiritual roots and culture that were laid down especially for them (every single Jewish child) by their biblical forefathers and mothers.
The more we effectively meet G-d’s challenges the great the blessings he provides us. The Kabbalah teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, G-d determines the precise amount of income that each of us will be blessed with for the following year. The blessing of our annual income is not a single cent more or less that Hashem measures out for us each year.
Then it’s time to make choices regarding how and when to spend and invest and when to cut corners and save. Yet when it comes to our children’s Jewish education, it’s not about making a simple financial choice between public and private education, it’s about meeting a profound spiritual challenge to make the ultimate investment.
An Important Lesson from Joseph and His Brothers
In this week’s Torah portion Joseph, who is still not recognized by his brothers, demand’s that the brothers bring Benjamin down to Egypt. Judah promised Jacob their father that he would take care of his younger brother, that Jacob had nothing to worry about.
When Judah perceived that Joseph, still disguised to his brothers as an Egyptian ruler, sought to harm Benjamin, he walked right up to this seemingly powerful ruler (which in those days – often meant death) and told him: Back Off! If you want to get to this child, you’ll have to go through me first!
When meeting the challenge of providing our children with a solid Jewish education, we need to display the commitment and that purity of spirit and motivational tenacity that Judah did for Benjamin!
No matter how hard it may seem, when we tap into our inner connection with G-d the way Judah did, nothing in this world will stop us from giving our children the kind of education they need and deserve! It's all about passing the test.
- Rabbi Schneur Hayes
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