Parashat Tzaveh
If you are a parent, be a parent !!
I heard the most beautiful music on Saturday night. The melody was so powerful that I stood in the rain to listen to it. There was no band, no conductor and no instruments, this music was the sound of parents doing that sacred job, parenting. There is a wonderful program that takes place about an hour after the conclusion of the Sabbath. Parents and children return to the synagogue and take time to study together. Together they read the words of ancient texts; together they devote an hour a week to bridge time and space and stand once again at the foot of Mount Sinai. Parents acting as educators. All week, others are appointed to this most noble mission, but ultimately it remains the job of a parent.
In the past twelve years since joining the teaching profession I have heard many things that have shocked me. One of many conversations that bothered me was with a student who told me that her mother is her best friend. My eyes must have conveyed my shock because she immediately provided a list of examples describing their relationship. I pointed out, what to me was obvious your mother is your parent, not your friend. Looking around at the wider community it appears that parents are becoming increasingly scared of their children, and instead of standing up and directing their offspring, they act as their child’s fairy god mother, fulfilling their every wish and granting them more, just to maintain the façade of a happy family.
This week we will read about the Breastplate worn by the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest in the Temple. On it were the names of all the 12 tribes, which were to be at the forefront of the High Priest’s thoughts as he prayed to G-d. It’s my suggestion that these names served to remind the community that there were parents of the nation, people who guided and moulded the early Israelites. It’s only through recognizing that we are children that we can approach the ultimate parent, G-d. Don’t run away from being a parent, embrace the task, just as G-d embraces you.
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