“The implication is that if a woman does ‘boot her husband out,’ she is a ‘lesser woman.’ This is a terrible misrepresentation”
With all this talk about support and kollel, there are some people who feel obligated to make sure their young children have all their wants met because “It’s not their fault we chose this lifestyle.” That really rubs me the wrong way.
Every choice we make as parents affects our children: Which community we live in, which home we buy, which school we send them to, and our chosen profession will all affect their formative experiences.
Why do we only feel the need to make it up to them when we’re living a kollel lifestyle? Are we forgetting the eternal beauty of and everlasting reward for learning, not to mention the many daily blessings we feel, both in terms of the values we learn and live, and in the brachos and nissim Hashem bestows? Are we giving our children the message that Torah and kollel is something that we sacrificed for, but we don’t want to burden them with the sacrifice?
Can we change the message to a more true one: Every choice is by definition saying no to something else, and our family made the greatest choice. We chose the beauty of Torah, and we’re proud to give this over as our legacy to our children.
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