We learned the hard way what you didn’t teach us,
D ear Former Teachers
It’s been many years since I sat in your classrooms. Yet your words still ring in my ears. I sat in your classes in a solid Bais Yaakov from preschool through seminary. And you were the ones who taught me of the importance of a Jewish mother and wife.
The messages began when we were so young — my first recollection is from fifth grade — nearly a decade before most of us would stand under the chuppah. You spoke one after the other about the power of a bas Yisrael to set the tone in her home and to use her binah yeseirah to transform her husband into a true ben Torah. You taught about all the women throughout the glorious sweep of our history who nurtured the potential they viewed within their husband who gave up everything so their spouses could grow in Torah and thanks to their efforts their husbands achieved dazzling heights.
Day in and day out week after week we heard that after the wedding day we can begin anew and choose the path we wish to take for the rest of our lives to craft the bricks that would build our homes. We learned how it is up to us to enable our husbands to achieve greatness.
However there were two crucial points that were not taught. First that our husbands may have good intentions and may be true bnei Torah but they did not receive the same education that we did. They might not be interested or able to stretch themselves to continue learning and growing as the years march on. Secondly that effort is in our hands — but not success!
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