VAYAIRA

This blessing should be said with emotion and a broken heart. May this year be good to bring relief to the poor and suffering needy. One should include his livelihood and the welfare of his household. This should be his intention during this blessing, even if he is very wealthy, as we know from the story of Martha the daughter of Beitus who had a treasure in her house but became swollen and died from starvation. With these things in mind a person should ask for mercy.

In the winter he must say, "...And give dew and rain for a blessing." He should know the meaning of the words in his own spoken language. Similarly, he must pray these words from the depths of his heart.

Behold, if he forgets to pray for rain, and finishes the amidah prayer taking three steps backwards, then he must pray again. Therefore, if he says these words with his lips, but he does not know their meaning or does not care because he is not paying attention, then it can be considered before the One who truthfully judges all hearts as if he did not request anything. Woe for such shame.

When we conclude this blessing a person should have in mind the power and wonders of G-d which are displayed in the way seeds grow from the earth and the awesome wisdom of the Creator in this....

(Yesod Ve'shoresh Ha'avodah)

In the sefer "Chofetz Chaim On the Torah" it is written: If we are always invoking the merit of our patriarchs to protect us, then we must also act in this way ("to guard the way of G-d"). Each one must motivate the other to serve G-d, and this is all the more so in the case of our children. Then we will have merit in the present and in the future.

The Chofetz Chaim did not do things because he was seeking honor. However, whenever an issue touched upon the service of G-d in the towns near his home in Radin, he considered himself responsible to make sure that it was arranged properly. Thus, there were many times that he travelled to various towns around Radin to organize affairs pertaining to religious observance in those places.

Once he was involved with the building of a mikvah in a nearby town. When progress in the affair became sluggish, he travelled to the place and invited all the leading members of the community to his hotel room. There he said to them, "It is known to you how much work I have invested in the building of a mikvah here. Unfortunately, my work has not born fruit. I am not complaining about anyone, but I am already an old man, and a person does not know his time. When I come to the `world of truth' I will be asked why I kept silent when I, a neighbor to your town, knew that there was not any mikvah here? Therefore, I am asking you to do me a favor and give me a letter that I did all that I could and the fault is not mine but those who would not listen to me."

When the community leaders heard these words they were astonished, and they all began to exhort each other that the building of the mikvah must be finished. One of them pledged a large sum, and afterwards others followed suit. In a short while there was enough money for the building of the mikvah.

At another time he attended a convention of rabbanim and roshei yeshivot in Horedno. He said to them, "If someone would have offered me one hundred mitzvot to make this trip, I would not have endangered my life to make such a long journey from Radin to Horedno. However, because the issues pertain to the institutions of Torah, schools and yeshivot, therefore I came here despite the danger this long trip constitutes for me. If there is no Torah, then why should I live? If we do not sacrifice ourselves for the Torah of the next generation, then it could, G-d forbid, be forgotten."

Prayer: The basic learning of how to pray is done during the time of prayer when the child is standing next to his father. He will observe his father praying, and the father can monitor what the boy is doing and make corrections. That is the way to learn to pray. Exhortations and mussar to stregthen the child in prayer are good if they are given to one who also prays with his father. Therefore, everyone should try to be scrupulous about this. Father and son should attend prayers together whenever the times of prayer are not included in the time-frame of school. If a child is sent to pray in the synagogue without supervision, unless he is a superlative yirat shamayim, it is not hard to imagine what his prayers will look like. Neglect in this will be felt in the classroom as well.

Supervision at home: It is important that there should be organized periods during the time that the children are at home. Of course, time must be set aside for play. There must be time for chores and help around the house as well. There must be time for rest, and fixed times for meals. It is very important that there should be a fixed time for sleep. The child must have enough hours for sleep in order that he will not be sleepy in school. One must be srupulous about this from an early age.

A person must carefully scrutinize the entertainments of his children. What are they playing? Are they playing in a straight and upright way? Who are their friends? A person must be careful to keep his children distant from bad influences, but this should be done subtly in order that any other party is not offended by it. One should encourage an atmosphere in the house and a type of relationship with the children that will enable them to speak about everything that is happening to them without hiding anything.

Clothing: There are laws concerning dress. The dress of a talmid chacham, as the Rambam says (Hilchot De'ot 5:8), should not stick out. It should not be too fancy or too cheap; it should be simple. We also have laws of modesty. In the Mishnah Berurah Ch.2 it is explained what parts of the body must be covered, and what parts are allowed to be uncovered....

Children learning in school should not be allowed to dress in fashions which are currently popular at any given time. It should also be obvious from their dress that they are being educated in Torah.

Learning time: One should try to arrange any special appointments for times which do not conflict with the hours that the children are supposed to be in school. The children should be accustomed to the idea that the time for learning is very important and precious, and only if there is no other choice should they be taken out of school. Otherwise, they not only lose learning time, but they might also develop the bad habit of disregarding their learning time and neglecting the study of the holy Torah.