The Foundations of Jewish Education: Parashat Eikev

The first two paragraphs of the Shema appear in consecutive Torah portions. Last week, in Parashat Va’etchanan, we read: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

This week, in Parashat Eikev, we read the second paragraph, beginning: “And it shall come to pass, if you faithfully obey My commandments…”

The Sages explain that these two passages represent two successive stages of religious commitment. The first is קבלת עול מלכות שמים, accepting the sovereignty of Heaven. The second is קבלת עול מצוות, accepting the obligation of the commandments.

The order is essential. Before we can commit ourselves to God’s commandments, we must first recognize God, believe in God and love God. The first paragraph establishes the relationship; the second translates that relationship into a life of obligation and action. Faith and love provide the foundation upon which the mitzvot are built.

But there is another progression between the two paragraphs—one that often goes unnoticed—and it concerns the education of our children.

In the first paragraph of the Shema, parents are commanded: “You shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them—ודברת בם—when you sit in your home, when you walk on the way, when you lie down and when you rise.”

The emphasis is on the parents. We are to speak about Torah constantly. Torah is not meant to be confined to the synagogue, the classroom or the Shabbat table. It is to become part of the ordinary language of the home: while sitting, travelling, beginning the day and ending it.

Children are educated, first and foremost, by listening to what their parents speak about and by observing what matters to them. When parents live, breathe and speak Torah—when mitzvot are performed with commitment rather than resentment, when Shabbat is experienced as a source of joy rather than restriction, and when Jewish values shape the family’s conversations and decisions—the children absorb far more than information. They encounter a living example of love, loyalty and dedication.

But in the second paragraph, the Torah subtly changes its formulation: “ולמדתם אותם את בניכם לדבר בם”—“You shall teach them to your children, to speak of them.”

The verse does not merely command us to speak to our children. It commands us to teach our children so that they themselves will speak.

The goal of Jewish education is not achieved merely when children hear words of Torah from their parents. It is achieved when Torah becomes part of their own language—when they begin to ask Jewish questions, express Jewish ideas, interpret their experiences through Jewish categories and speak about Torah and mitzvot in their own voices.

These are two necessary stages of Jewish education.

The first is modelling. Parents must demonstrate that Judaism is real, meaningful and central to their lives. Children quickly recognize the difference between a Judaism that is merely preached and one that is genuinely lived. We cannot expect them to love what we treat as a burden, to value what we rarely discuss or to make central what we ourselves regard as peripheral.

But modelling alone is not enough. The second stage requires us to help children make Judaism their own.

We must use our creativity and energy to connect Torah to their lives, questions and concerns. We must help them see how Torah speaks to friendship, love, morality, identity, technology, suffering, responsibility, justice, Israel, and the search for meaning. We must create opportunities for them not only to listen but to respond; not only to receive answers but to formulate questions; not only to repeat our words but to discover words of their own.

This task is particularly challenging in the world in which we live. Our children are surrounded by powerful competing cultures. They are exposed to endless voices, images, identities and systems of meaning, all competing for their attention and loyalty. The language of social media, entertainment and popular culture can easily become more natural to them than the language of Torah.

For that very reason, we cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility, nor can we assume that schools will do the work for us. Schools can teach texts, skills and knowledge. They can inspire and guide. But Jewish education begins in the home, where children first learn what their parents truly love, what they regard as sacred and what gives their lives meaning.

The Torah therefore presents us with a demanding educational vision. First, ודברת בם: we must speak words of Torah ourselves. We must model a committed, joyful and meaningful Jewish life. Then, ולמדתם אותם את בניכם לדבר בם: we must teach our children until they, too, can speak those words—naturally, personally and passionately.

The ultimate measure of Jewish education is not simply whether our children can repeat what we have taught them. It is whether Torah has become part of the way they understand themselves and the world; whether it serves as a frame of reference for their choices, their values and their aspirations; and whether, when they leave our homes and find their own voices, they still choose to speak of it.

For an abridged video version: https://youtube.com/shorts/GL2Kik4-KBY?feature=share

Shabbat Shalom.

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