How far are you willing to go?
How far are you willing to go to raise your child in a Christian manner?
Reading Chaim Potok’s The Chosen challenged me to think about that question. In the novel Potok tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. Though both boys are Jewish they come from different, even antagonistic, Jewish traditions. Reuven’s father, David, is a Modern Orthodox Jew while Danny’s father, Isaac, is a Hasidic Rabbi.
In the book we learn that Reb Saunders never talks to his eldest son, Danny. He talks to his other children but not to Danny—except about the Talmud. Every Shabbat Danny and his father engage in an extended dialogue and debate about the Talmud. As the novel progresses we learn that as eldest son, Danny will one day be expected to assume leadership of the Hasidic Jewish community. We also learn why his father has raised him in silence.
When Danny was young, Reb Saunders realized that his son was brilliant. Not just smart or intellectual but amazingly intelligent. Yet, to his bewilderment, Reb Saunders knows that his son has no heart. Danny has a great mind but no soul. To instill Danny with a soul Reb Saunders raises his son through silence, in the novel an ancient Hasidic parenting method that teaches the child to learn compassion through the suffering of silence.
And so, how far are you willing to go to raise your child in a Christian manner?
While I certainly disagree with the technique Reb Saunders used, I admire his willingness to sacrifice for the goal of raising a son with a soul. As Christians we want to raise our children to know and serve God (Ephesians 6:4). Instead of raising our children in silence, however, we should cultivate rich lines of communication with our children.
In the Gospels the Father communicates his love to the Son verbally (Matthew 3:16-17). The Son talks with his Father daily in prayer. The Father and Son were and are the epitome of a relationship founded on dialogue.
As parents we should imitate the Father. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 describes how thorough we must be in communicating the Father’s ways to our children:
“7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
It is tempting to leave God out of everyday conversations. We can raise our children in silence about the Lord and not realize it. The challenge of Reb Saunders is that he was silent about everything except his Jewish holy books. Do we talk about everything except God’s true holy book, the Bible and its bearing on our lives?
Reading Chaim Potok’s The Chosen challenged me to think about that question. In the novel Potok tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. Though both boys are Jewish they come from different, even antagonistic, Jewish traditions. Reuven’s father, David, is a Modern Orthodox Jew while Danny’s father, Isaac, is a Hasidic Rabbi.
In the book we learn that Reb Saunders never talks to his eldest son, Danny. He talks to his other children but not to Danny—except about the Talmud. Every Shabbat Danny and his father engage in an extended dialogue and debate about the Talmud. As the novel progresses we learn that as eldest son, Danny will one day be expected to assume leadership of the Hasidic Jewish community. We also learn why his father has raised him in silence.
When Danny was young, Reb Saunders realized that his son was brilliant. Not just smart or intellectual but amazingly intelligent. Yet, to his bewilderment, Reb Saunders knows that his son has no heart. Danny has a great mind but no soul. To instill Danny with a soul Reb Saunders raises his son through silence, in the novel an ancient Hasidic parenting method that teaches the child to learn compassion through the suffering of silence.
And so, how far are you willing to go to raise your child in a Christian manner?
While I certainly disagree with the technique Reb Saunders used, I admire his willingness to sacrifice for the goal of raising a son with a soul. As Christians we want to raise our children to know and serve God (Ephesians 6:4). Instead of raising our children in silence, however, we should cultivate rich lines of communication with our children.
In the Gospels the Father communicates his love to the Son verbally (Matthew 3:16-17). The Son talks with his Father daily in prayer. The Father and Son were and are the epitome of a relationship founded on dialogue.
As parents we should imitate the Father. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 describes how thorough we must be in communicating the Father’s ways to our children:
“7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
It is tempting to leave God out of everyday conversations. We can raise our children in silence about the Lord and not realize it. The challenge of Reb Saunders is that he was silent about everything except his Jewish holy books. Do we talk about everything except God’s true holy book, the Bible and its bearing on our lives?
posted by T. Chris at Wednesday, September 20, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home