Tradition         

If you asked my six-year-old who would be his link to generations past, who he believes is the expert in all things and undisputed Great Sage of Our Generation, he would have a ready answer.

It is not his father.

It is not his cheder rebbi.

It is not his menahel.

It is his seven-year-old brother.

I foolishly used to think that mesorah was only a chain connecting father to son. Now I realize that there is another, equally powerful tradition made of similar links passed down from older brother to younger brother.

Does my six-year-old have other brothers who are even older than seven?

Yes, he does.

But apparently, none are as wise as The Seven-Year-Old Man with All the Answers who has taken it upon himself to educate his younger brother.