Sweeter Than Honey

by Shiffy Friedman

The gift, the sweet gift we’ve been cherishing for centuries— we’re experiencing its acceptance again come Shavuos. Every year, on the sixth (and seventh) of Sivan, our neshamah once again experiences the incredible height of joy we felt at Har Sinai, standing at mountain, taking it all in. Besides for nurturing a vibrant inner landscape within, to work on cherishing Torah ourselves, how else can we help transmit a connection to Torah in our children? Moshe kibeil Torah miSinai, starts the Mishnah in Avos (1:1), “And he gave it over to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua gave it over to the Zekeinim…” And since then, this legacy has been passed down, generation to generation.

First and foremost, the most powerful form of transmission is to live the message. The more joy and connection we feel when performing a mitzvah, in our lives as frum Yidden, the more of a positive approach toward a frum life our children will be’ezras Hashem have. How our preparation for Shabbos looks, the meaning we find in our our birkas hamazon, Modeh Ani, Krias Shema, and everything in between—that’s what they pick up on most of all. Then there’s the action-oriented angle. What doable steps can we take to make this connection to Hashem and His Torah come alive for our children, as well? More specifically, how can we bring the themes of Yiddishkeit into our conversations with our young children so we can fill their hearts with an appreciation for this exalted place in this world?