INAUGURATION INTO EDUCATION
Nasso
Last week we participated in an Areinfirnish for our son who has recently started school. This is a traditional ceremony performed when a boy begins to learn Torah in Cheder or school. He had the best time; He got to lick honey off of the letters of the Alef-Beis, eat cake with Torah words written on it, got a handful of lollies, lots of attention, and a special present for this special day.
Aside from the mystical meaning behind this ceremony and each of its details, there is a huge educational impact. The ceremony generates a love and excitement about learning Torah, after which they are ready to throw themselves into their learning of Alef Beis and Pesukim.
We want our children to engage in their learning for many years to come. But you can’t just put a kid in class one day and expect them to want to learn, especially as this is something new for them and a big change to what they are used to. Our sages teach that “all beginnings are difficult”.
The Torah education that we give our children in called Chinuch. In addition to education, Chinuch also means an inauguration. Before they can start learning, we need to inaugurate our children into learning; their Chinuch needs a Chinuch.
We cannot train a child to learn just by learning. The induction must involve something more, something extra. This is why we give them prizes, gifts and lollies. This is to give an extra boost and incentive, to get them excited and give them the strength to then engage with and pursue their learning going forward.
The same is true for incentivising behaviours. If there is a behaviour that we want our children to follow or a habit that we want to change, we need to incentivise them with prizes and rewards. Once they have become accustomed to the new behaviour, the rewards are no longer necessary. But to start the process, as part of the initiation, they are imperative.
At the end of this week’s Parsha we read about the dedication of the Mizbeach, referred to as Chanukas Hamizbeach. The word Chanukah is related to the word Chinuch. Just as a child requires the extra dose of gifts to give them the strength to continue learning, the Mizbeach needed a Chinuch to instil within it the power to do its ongoing Avodah.
The daily, ongoing Avodah of the Mizbeach was the Korbanos. This Avodah entailed taking animals and elevating on high as they were burned up by the fire of the altar.
This Chinuch of the Mizbeach was in the form of the gifts brought by the princes of the 12 Tribes. One of the inauguration gifts given by each Nasi, was a golden spoon filled with Ketores.
In the Temple Avodah, Ketores would be burned each day, but only ever on the inner altar. The Ketores brought by the princes was offered on the external altar, the only time that this was ever done.
This offering of Ketores on the outer Mizbeach when the Mishkan was first setup was the Chinuch. The Ketores is more lofty than the Korbanos, evidenced by the fact that it was brought on the inner altar whereas the Korbanos were on the external altar.
The Korbanos are likened to food and are referred to as Lechem, the bread of Hashem. When we eat food, it becomes ingested and internalised. The Korbanos elicit the G-dly that is internalised within the worlds, each according to its level. This light is referred to as Memaleh Kol Almin.
In contrast, fragrance is something that is not internalised. Fragrance pervades and surrounds us. The Ketores elicits the Divine light of Sovev Kol Almin, the light that transcends the worlds entirely. This is a much loftier Hamshacha.
Offering the Ketores of the Nesiim drew down this transcendent light into the sacrificial altar to give it the ability to effect the daily ongoing Avodah of Korbanos, elevating the physicality and animalism of the world.
In our Avodah, the Korbanos of the outer altar represents the refinement and elevation of our Animalistic Soul. We try to redirect the desire of the Animalistic Soul, so that it too appreciates and yearns for G-dliness, instead of craving worldly, material and selfish pleasures.
The time for this Avodah is during Davening. Through our meditations in Davening, we arouse the fiery flames of love for Hashem. This love, like the fires on the altar, burns away the negative expressions of the desires of the Animlistic Soul and redirect them to a deep yearning for G-dliness. Each part of Davening is part of this process.
The emotions and drives of the Animalistic Soul have great strength and force. When we transform and redirect them to holiness, they become even more potent than the emotions of the G-dly soul. This is like the advantage of the Baal Teshuvah who return to Hashem with greater strength than the Tzadikkim.
Like the Mizbeach, in order to engage in this daily Avodah of elevating our inner animal, we need a Chinuch. The Alter Rebbe does not clearly say what the Chinuch of the Mizbeach is in terms of Avodah, so the following is conjecture.
Chassidus teaches that the Ketores represents the Yechidah, the essence of the soul which is described as a Makif (encompassing). The Yechidah’s desire for Hashem is completely beyond logic and meditation. Revealing our Yechidah, gives us the strength to engage with our animalistic side and through daily Avodah and meditations in prayer, to elevate it as a Korban to Hashem.
Aside from the mystical meaning behind this ceremony and each of its details, there is a huge educational impact. The ceremony generates a love and excitement about learning Torah, after which they are ready to throw themselves into their learning of Alef Beis and Pesukim.
We want our children to engage in their learning for many years to come. But you can’t just put a kid in class one day and expect them to want to learn, especially as this is something new for them and a big change to what they are used to. Our sages teach that “all beginnings are difficult”.
The Torah education that we give our children in called Chinuch. In addition to education, Chinuch also means an inauguration. Before they can start learning, we need to inaugurate our children into learning; their Chinuch needs a Chinuch.
We cannot train a child to learn just by learning. The induction must involve something more, something extra. This is why we give them prizes, gifts and lollies. This is to give an extra boost and incentive, to get them excited and give them the strength to then engage with and pursue their learning going forward.
The same is true for incentivising behaviours. If there is a behaviour that we want our children to follow or a habit that we want to change, we need to incentivise them with prizes and rewards. Once they have become accustomed to the new behaviour, the rewards are no longer necessary. But to start the process, as part of the initiation, they are imperative.
At the end of this week’s Parsha we read about the dedication of the Mizbeach, referred to as Chanukas Hamizbeach. The word Chanukah is related to the word Chinuch. Just as a child requires the extra dose of gifts to give them the strength to continue learning, the Mizbeach needed a Chinuch to instil within it the power to do its ongoing Avodah.
The daily, ongoing Avodah of the Mizbeach was the Korbanos. This Avodah entailed taking animals and elevating on high as they were burned up by the fire of the altar.
This Chinuch of the Mizbeach was in the form of the gifts brought by the princes of the 12 Tribes. One of the inauguration gifts given by each Nasi, was a golden spoon filled with Ketores.
In the Temple Avodah, Ketores would be burned each day, but only ever on the inner altar. The Ketores brought by the princes was offered on the external altar, the only time that this was ever done.
This offering of Ketores on the outer Mizbeach when the Mishkan was first setup was the Chinuch. The Ketores is more lofty than the Korbanos, evidenced by the fact that it was brought on the inner altar whereas the Korbanos were on the external altar.
The Korbanos are likened to food and are referred to as Lechem, the bread of Hashem. When we eat food, it becomes ingested and internalised. The Korbanos elicit the G-dly that is internalised within the worlds, each according to its level. This light is referred to as Memaleh Kol Almin.
In contrast, fragrance is something that is not internalised. Fragrance pervades and surrounds us. The Ketores elicits the Divine light of Sovev Kol Almin, the light that transcends the worlds entirely. This is a much loftier Hamshacha.
Offering the Ketores of the Nesiim drew down this transcendent light into the sacrificial altar to give it the ability to effect the daily ongoing Avodah of Korbanos, elevating the physicality and animalism of the world.
In our Avodah, the Korbanos of the outer altar represents the refinement and elevation of our Animalistic Soul. We try to redirect the desire of the Animalistic Soul, so that it too appreciates and yearns for G-dliness, instead of craving worldly, material and selfish pleasures.
The time for this Avodah is during Davening. Through our meditations in Davening, we arouse the fiery flames of love for Hashem. This love, like the fires on the altar, burns away the negative expressions of the desires of the Animlistic Soul and redirect them to a deep yearning for G-dliness. Each part of Davening is part of this process.
The emotions and drives of the Animalistic Soul have great strength and force. When we transform and redirect them to holiness, they become even more potent than the emotions of the G-dly soul. This is like the advantage of the Baal Teshuvah who return to Hashem with greater strength than the Tzadikkim.
Like the Mizbeach, in order to engage in this daily Avodah of elevating our inner animal, we need a Chinuch. The Alter Rebbe does not clearly say what the Chinuch of the Mizbeach is in terms of Avodah, so the following is conjecture.
Chassidus teaches that the Ketores represents the Yechidah, the essence of the soul which is described as a Makif (encompassing). The Yechidah’s desire for Hashem is completely beyond logic and meditation. Revealing our Yechidah, gives us the strength to engage with our animalistic side and through daily Avodah and meditations in prayer, to elevate it as a Korban to Hashem.