“With siyata d’Shmaya and hadrachah, we are capable of raising confident children who don’t require all of the latest trends”
When I read your panel discussion about materialism, I thought that I had stumbled into the Purim edition. The discussion repeatedly encouraged providing more stuff to our children so as not to be nerdy. Let me get this straight… is not being nerdy Torah MiSinai? Is this the chinuch we want to encourage in our children? In ourselves? Isn’t this veiled sinas chinam — which has prevented the Geulah for more centuries than we want to admit?
With siyata d’Shmaya and hadrachah, we are capable of raising confident children who don’t require all of the latest trends (which we can no longer afford or keep up with). Look in the mirror — which traits are you modeling? Where are your values? What do you notice and admire in others? Their bank accounts? Their middos or chesed? Their commitment to Torah? Have we as a community become too judgmental? Be mindful of how you describe others. Our children take note — even when we aren’t paying attention.
Our generation’s nisyonos — such as bullying and the shidduch crisis — stem from our own ills, not from “the outside world.” We need to ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions. It is our job to rectify the situation through refining our values and sensitivities. We have sunk low enough!
Anonymous and Disillusioned
I really enjoyed the conversation about getting (or not getting) our children “stuff.” The topic is familiar but the opinions were fresh and insightful. Of particular interest to me was the question whether we bear communal responsibility when choosing a standard for our simchahs.
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