Expect More, Get More

It was a proud moment for Beth El. With so many people from so many corners shrying “gevalt” about the state of Jewish education and our children’s dedication to Jewish learning, this morning’s minyan was a bright ray of hope for the future.

For the first time in the 12 years that I have been at Beth El, two of our b’nai mitzvah students led the morning services. Matt Schwartz (Josh and Robin), who will become a bar mitzvah this Sunday (Rosh Chodesh), led all of the davening – and quite well I might add. And Eliana Goodman (Barb and Dave), who will become a bat mitzvah this Shabbat morning read the Torah flawlessly.

To what do I attribute the success of this beautiful morning? To my mind it is simple: Parents who set very high expectations of their children when it comes to Jewish learning. But it was not just the high bar they set for their kids. It was their willingness to sit, night after night with their children reinforcing what they were learning. These are two sets of parents who were willing, in so many words, to say to their kids, “What you are learning now is SO important. In fact it is as important was what you are learning in school. And if you were having trouble in math I would sit with you and review. If you needed encouragement in American History, I would be there with you, night after night, as long as it took. And when it comes to developing your Jewish soul, know that I will be there for you forever, so let’s get busy.”

If every Jewish parent was as concerned with their child’s Jewish soul, their relationship to Gd, to Jewish values, to Jewish tradition, as they are with the secular material their children will soon forget, the light of future generations of Jews would burn even brighter.

Parents who expect more, get more.