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Are Our Children Overburdened?
By HARRIS SWIFT
RABBI, B’NAI ZION CONGREGATION, CHATTANOOGA
’ I have been giving much thought lately to the over-burdening of
our youngsters with Temple activities. Worshipping “one” hour a week,
attending a Hebrew class about “three-fourths” of an hour a week,
apd Sunday School for “two hours” a week, must be taxing our children
to such an extent that they must be oppressed to the point of distract
ion. This is the refrain that has been played for me for years. Even
studying the Bible is a demanding chore.
Well, I’ve been giving a great deal of consideration to alleviating
the distress of our maltreated children and browbeaten parents. I am
contemplating the following schedule: Sunday School to be conducted
only on the odd calendar dates of the month; Junior Congregation to be
held only on the fifth Saturday of every month; Hebrew classes to be
conducted only on February the 29th of each year; and Bar and Bas
Mitzvahs to be handled on a “do it yourself” basis. As soon as a date is
set, I will show the prospective celebrants what to study and the next
time I meet with them will be at their Bar or Bas Mitzvah. So that our
adults will not feel neglected, Temple services will be held only on
even calendar dates of each month. This should make me a very pop
ular Rabbi. “Happy, Happy, Happy—Must Keep Them Happy” is to
become our motto. The above program should keep everybody happy.
But would it? I told our Bar and Bas Mitzvah group this past Sat
urday that we’ll work on a “do it yourself’ basis since they are not
putting forth the effort that they should and I no longer feel that I
want to be the “taskmaster.” Do you know their reaction? They wouldn’t
hear of it. No, that was “not” what they wanted. They want me to
“get after” them when they “goof.” Yet, they complain when I do. So
what’s the answer? Even when you’re right, you’re wrong. I suppose
I’ll just have to continue to be “that mean ol’ Rabbi who expects me to
be well prepared in Sunday School, Hebrew School, and for my Bar
Mitzvah.” This is my lot, this is my burden, this is the predicament of
every conscientious and consecrated spiritual leader. If they weren’t,
there would never be a complaint of this nature.
I feel that parents generally miss a most important point. They are
so interested in “shielding” their youngsters that they are hindering
their children’s wholesome development and understanding. It is “very”
often that you hear parents say, “I want my children to have what I
didn’t have.” This is all well and good—perhaps even noble. But why
don’t these very same parents say that they want their children to
have that whichever it is that is worthwhile in their character, as
discipline, responsibility, obligation, respect, yes, respect, that they
had. All this prepared these parents for their present role of parent
hood. Why not give them a sense of contribution to the welfare of their
Jewish people, their community, their city and country. Why not make
them cognizant of the fact that life does not hand them, on a silver
platter, every whim and wish that crosses their minds. Why no give
them a good example. This is the best thing any parent can give a child.
Jewish parents often feel that they are “helping” their children by not
“denying” them Christmas trees. How mistaken they are!
I hope we will not make parasites of our offsprings, but prepare
them for the realities of life so that they will not suddenly descend
upon and catch them unawares and irreparably damage their emotional
constitution. Let us not make of them “escaptists,” whether it be from
their Judaism or from their civic or human responsibilities.
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The Southern Israelite
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