Is There a Disconnect between Torah Learning and ... - Hakirah.org

54 : Hạkirah, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought
but still a real person. I’ve seen children’s eyes light up with the
excitement of discovery upon realizing the authenticity of Rashi and
of the learning process. He learned and looked up ‏,ספרים we learn
and look up ‏.ספרים We are all part of the same enterprise.
Another way to connect Torah to life is to show children the
depth of meaning in Torah, by giving them rational reasons for the
mitzvos, customs, and strictures that we teach them and expect them
to adhere to. The Sefer Hachinuch was written, as the author puts it,
להרגיל הנערים ולהטעים להם בתחילת בואם לשמוע דברי ספר,‏
כי יש לדברי
“to habituate the youth and to make palatable ‏,התורה טעמים ותועלות
to them as they begin to learn, that words of Torah have reason and
purpose.”
,
“and the mitzvos should not ‏,מתוך כך בנערותם ויניחום לעולם וילכו בהבל
appear to them as being a closed book, lest they reject them out of a
childish misunderstanding and they forever abandon them.” When he
could not find a reason for one out of 613 mitzvos, he was afraid to
leave even that one mitzvah without an explanation, and he went on
to write “what comes to mind.” 58
Furthermore, we must teach our children the broader values that
וזה דרך התורה לפרוט writes, underlie the individual mitzvos. As Ramban
ואל יהיו להם המצוות בתחילה כדברי הספר החתום
פן יבעטו בהם
ולכלול בכיוצא בזה,‏ כי אחרי אזהרת פרטי הדינין בכל משא ומתן שבין בני אדם ,
לא תגנוב ולא תגזול ולא תונו ושאר האזהרות,‏ אמר בכלל ועשית הישר והטוב
‏(דברים ו יח),‏ שיכניס בעשה היושר וההשויה
" . “And this is the way of the
Torah, to list specifics and then to write a general rule, for after
stating the specific prohibitions in dealing with people do not steal,
do not rob, do not deceive, and other warnings, it stated in general
terms, do the just and the good.” 59
אחרי שפרט - קדושים תהיו Similarly he comments on the mitzva of
‏.האיסורים שאסר אותם לגמרי,‏ וצוה בדבר כללי שנהיה פרושים מן המותרות
“After it specified the prohibitions that are prohibited outright, it
commanded us in general terms, to be removed from the excesses (of
material pleasure).”
Teaching the values underlying the mitzvos demands and allows
for greater application to a wider range of activities in our daily lives.
58 ‏.מצוה קיז שלא להקריב שאור או דבש Hachinuch, See Sefer
59
. רמב " ן ויקרא יט ב 59