To
My Dear Students,
Our
Torah Portion features a contest of wills between
Moses and Pharoah, in which the ruler of Egypt
is the one who yields. Moses has demanded
that Pharoah let the people of Israel go forth
from Egypt. Pharoah is willing up to a point:
he restricts freedom to the adults. He is
determined to keep the young Israelites enslaved
in Egypt.
Moses
counters, "We will go with our young as well
as our elderly."
The
Rabbis ask: "Why did Moses mention
the young first? Shouldn't the elderly precede
the young out of respect?"
Moses
deliberately stated it this way because he knew
that the children, the young, represent the future
of Judaism.
Dear
students, you are our future. How you believe
in your faith, how you appreciate your faith,
how you live your faith, will contribute to the
survival of our people and the flourishing of
our religion. There is nothing more important
than you.
"Dor
va-Dor," Generation to Generation.
As you received Torah from your parents, it is
yours to uphold and strengthen and then one day
pass on.
You
represent our hopes for the future. Our
prayer and confidence is that you will go forth
toward a bright tomorrow, filled with love of
G-d and devotion to Torah.
Shabbat
Shalom,
Your
Rabbi
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