Michael and Marion Mitwoch, fled Germany for Israel as
teenagers when Hitler rose to power and were among the founders of Kibbutz
Lavi. Two years ago, they celebrated the birth of their 100th great-grandchild.
As Jews, we're very concerned about the future. Especially
since the Holocaust, we are sensitive to the need to, at least, maintain and,
ideally, increase our numbers. In our community, we are especially happy
when a family is blessed with a third child. That's because the
replacement birth rate is 2.33 children per family. Since nobody has
figured out how to get the .33 child, Jewish families with 3 children (or more)
contribute to the growth of the Jewish people.
The continuity of generations is fundamental to who we are.
We need to take note of the secret to its success.
After being threatened with locusts, Pharaoh's hardened heart
begins to soften. As his advisers plead that he surrender so that Egypt
would not be destroyed, Pharaoh acquiesces and says, "Go and worship your
God." He is unwilling, however, to let everyone go, and limits his
gesture to just the men. Moshe and Aharon reject this half-hearted offer.
They declare:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר משֶׁ֔ה
בִּנְעָרֵ֥ינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵ֖ינוּ נֵלֵ֑ךְ בְּבָנֵ֨ינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵ֜נוּ
בְּצֹאנֵ֤נוּ וּבִבְקָרֵ֨נוּ֙ נֵלֵ֔ךְ כִּ֥י חַג־יְהֹוָ֖ה לָֽנוּ
We
will go out with our young and our old; with our sons and with our daughters.
The entire Jewish people must leave without exception.
There
are two important lessons here.
1.
We need to stay connected to the past.
The older generation is not obsolete. They don't go out of
style. We carry the lives and the lessons of our elders with us always.
That is the only way to be sure we are going forward in the right
direction.
2.
Our future is in the hands of our sons AND our daughters.
Let's face it. The Torah does not often explicitly provide
us with the exact role that women should play in Judaism. In this case,
however, we see explicitly that the future of the Jewish nation is tied to the
daughters going free and being part of redemption.
The
role of women in Judaism continues to evolve, but one thing that remains
constant is the critical role they play in shaping the Jewish nation.
Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, understood the need for
"our daughters" to play a visible role in Jewish life. The
Lubavitch Youth Organization catered to boys and girls. In their youth
magazine, "The Moshiach Times," the editors thought it would be interesting
to have a girl on the cover. Since they thought this would be a little
too "modern," they sought the Rebbe's approval, which was granted.
The editors did the same with a second issue.
A
subsequent issue was prepared without a picture of a girl. Since the
editors had shown the previous issues to the Rebbe, they decided to "stick
to tradition" and show him the issue even without the
"innovation." After reviewing the magazine, the Rebbe returned
it to the editors with a note on the cover: "Tzarich lihyot gam na'arah -
There also needs to be a girl (on the cover)."
There is a lot about Jewish continuity that is complicated.
One thing that is clear is that to be successful, we need to listen to
the oldies and make sure our sons AND daughters have seats at the table of
Jewish life.
Shabbat
Shalom from Jerusalem! (I'm participating in a week of study at the
Hartman Institute as part of their rabbinic leadership program.)
