The study of Torah, through which the spiritual world is sustained, is carried out by Torah scholars and by all Jews who set aside regular times for Torah study * The virtue of female teachers who teach Torah and derech eretz to girls and boys, is equal to that of male teachers who teach boys * The education of children is the foundation for the existence of Torah in the world * We do not interrupt the study of young children, even for the building of the Temple * It is a mitzvah to choose God-fearing teachers who are accomplished in their learning and know how to teach Torah with balance and precision * We all bear the responsibility to place education and learning at the top of the national agenda
Teachers Emulate the Attributes of the Holy One, Blessed Be He
As the beginning of the school year approaches, it is worthwhile for all Jews, and especially for parents and teachers, to remind themselves of the great virtue of teachers, who emulate the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and continue His will in the world. When our Sages wanted to describe, by way of analogy, God’s activities during the hours of the day, and thereby express the values that are important before God, they said: “During the first three hours, the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and engages in Torah; during the second [three hours], He sits and judges the entire world… during the third [three hours], He sits and sustains the entire world, from the horns of wild oxen to the eggs of lice… during the fourth [three hours]… He sits and teaches young children Torah” (Avodah Zarah 3b).
The Holy One, blessed be He, performs all these things through agents, to whom He gives life and strength so that they may fulfill His mission. The study of Torah, through which the spiritual world is sustained, is carried out by Torah scholars, and by all Jews who set aside regular times for Torah study. Judgment is carried out by the angels of judgment, judges, and magistrates. The sustenance of the world is provided by the forces of nature that cause food to grow, and by human beings who engage in settling and developing the world. The teaching of young children, which guarantees the future of the world, is carried out by male and female teachers. Fortunate are they!
The Value of Teaching Children
The value of teaching Torah to children is so great that our Sages said: “The world exists only because of the breath that comes from the mouths of schoolchildren” (Shabbat 119b). Rav Pappa asked Abaye: ‘My Torah study and yours, what is its status’ (i.e., why is the Torah study of adults worth less?)? Abaye replied: “The breath that contains sin is not comparable to the breath that contains no sin.” Since young children have not yet sinned, they absorb the Torah with innocence, and this becomes the foundation for all the profound understandings they will reach later in their studies, and for all the good deeds they will perform throughout their lives.
Who Are “Young Children of the School,” and the Status of Female Teachers
Whenever our Sages said “young children of the school” (tinokot shel beit rabban), they meant children up to the age of bar, or bat mitzvah.
It is also necessary to explain that the virtue of female teachers who teach Torah and derech eretz (proper ethical conduct) to girls and boys, is equal to that of male teachers who teach boys. For the primary virtue of teachers is educating young children in Torah, wisdom, and good deeds, and female teachers fulfill this role just as male teachers do.
“Do Not Touch My Anointed Ones”—These Are the Young Children of the School
Our Sages expounded (Shabbat 119b) on the verse, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets” (I Chronicles 16:22): “‘Do not touch My anointed ones’—these are the young children of the school; ‘and do not harm My prophets’—these are Torah scholars.”
The children were called “My anointed ones” because of their importance: they were anointed with oil in order to help them grow and become healthy, just as the vessels of the Temple were anointed with oil and thereby sanctified (Maharal). Furthermore, through their learning, the Temple will be rebuilt and the Messiah will come (Iyun Yaakov), because from the power of their pure and innocent learning, new insights into Torah will eventually emerge that will bring the redemption closer.
Caution Against Interrupting the Children’s Torah Study
Because the study of children is so important, our Sages said: “We do not interrupt the study of young children even for the building of the Temple” (Shabbat 119b). This is because the study of children is the foundation for the existence of Torah in the world, while the Temple is the foundation for the revelation of holiness in the world—and the Torah preceded the world.
Our Sages further said: “Jerusalem was destroyed only because they interrupted the study of young children” (ibid.). This was likewise established as halakha (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 245:13).
From this, Rabbi Shaul David Botschko, may he live long and prosper, learned (Shulchan Aruch K’peshuto, Yoreh De’ah 245:38) that when a school needs to bring in a lecturer to teach a secular subject, it is forbidden to cancel religious studies classes for it.
The Tremendous Influence of Teachers
The influence of teachers on young students is enormous. Anyone who was fortunate to have good teachers can look at himself and realize that, from time to time, statements he heard from his teachers when he was young echoed in his heart and inspired him to choose what is good.
Sometimes these were statements about faith and Torah, honesty and kindness, the value of family, or love of the nation and the Land. Sometimes something he heard from his teachers about the prohibition against stealing or lying stopped him from doing something wrong many years later. At times, stories about self-sacrifice for Torah or saving another person, inspired him to accomplish great things in adulthood.
The Great Responsibility
Our Sages related (Bava Batra 21a) the story of Joab son of Zeruiah, commander of the army of Israel during the reign of David, who was sent to destroy Amalek. In those days, the Israelite army was at its peak, and it was possible to destroy the descendants of Amalek, and thereby save Israel, and the world, from all the wicked murderers who would emerge from Amalek.
However, Joab killed only the males. When he returned, David asked him why he had not fulfilled the commandment of the Torah, as it says: “You shall blot out the memory of Amalek” (Deuteronomy 25:19).
Joab replied that he had thought the commandment was to kill only the males, and that what the Torah said was timcheh et zecher Amalek—“blot out the males of Amalek.”
But the failure could no longer be corrected, because the remnants of Amalek fled and dispersed, and it was no longer possible to destroy them completely. From them emerged great enemies of Israel, such as Haman.
Joab son of Zeruiah went to the teacher who had taught him as a child, and asked him how the verse should be read. It became clear that the teacher was the one who had taught him the mistaken interpretation.
Joab drew his sword to kill him. The teacher cried out, “Why?!”
Joab replied: “Because you taught me an error,” and it is stated: “Cursed is he who performs the work of the Lord deceitfully” (Jeremiah 48:10).
The teacher replied: “Leave me with the curse of ‘cursed’ and do not kill me.”
Joab answered that later in the verse it says: “And cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood.”
Some meforshim (rabbinic commentators) say that he killed him, while others say that he did not kill him.
The Mitzvah to Choose the Best Teacher
Because of this, it is a mitzvah to choose teachers who are God-fearing, accomplished in their learning, and know how to teach Torah with balance and precision (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 245:17).
It is preferable that a teacher know how to teach quickly. However, if a teacher who is both fast and precise cannot be found, the slow and precise teacher should be preferred over the fast teacher who is not precise and may teach incorrect or exaggerated ideas (Bava Batra 21a; Shulchan Aruch 245:19).
If, because there was no alternative, a mediocre teacher had to be appointed, and over time an opportunity arose to hire a better teacher, the better teacher should be hired (Shulchan Aruch 245:18).
In periods when every teacher had the option of earning a living through work in his own field, or in a trade he had learned from his parents, and had left that work only because he had been asked to teach, when a better teacher was found, there was no problem with his returning to his previous occupation.
But today, when professional training takes a long time, and it is difficult for a person to change professions, employment contracts have been established, and they are binding (Responsa of the Rosh 104:4). Therefore, a teacher cannot suddenly be dismissed, and left without a livelihood.
Nevertheless, the principle remains that the students should receive the best teacher, and a way should be found to provide the previous teacher with compensation and assistance in retraining for another profession.
Keeping to the Schedule
In every job, an employee must perform his work faithfully. How much more so in teaching, which is a sacred vocation.
Therefore, a teacher should begin the lesson on time, should not leave to attend to personal matters in the middle of the lesson, should not talk or text on his mobile phone, and certainly, should not cancel a lesson (Maimonides, Laws of Torah Study 2:3).
The Teacher’s Responsibility to Sleep and Eat Properly
A teacher must be careful to sleep properly at night, so that he will not be tired when he needs to teach. As our Sages said, a worker hired to work during the day is forbidden to work at night, stay awake until late at night, or starve himself, lest he be less effective in his work (Jerusalem Talmud, Demai 7:3).
There was an incident involving Rabbi Yohanan, who went to a certain place and encountered a teacher of young children who appeared emaciated. He asked him why he looked that way. The teacher replied that he was fasting as an act of piety.
Rabbi Yohanan said to him: “You are forbidden to fast, for even if you were working for a human being, this would be forbidden to you; how much more so when you are performing ‘the work of the Holy One, blessed be He.’” This was likewise established as halakha (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 571:1).
The halakhic authorities further instructed (Rema, Yoreh De’ah 245:17) that a teacher should be careful to eat properly—not too much, and not too little—so that he will not be tired or weak, and will be able to teach properly.
Respect for the Teaching Profession
We all bear the responsibility to place education and learning at the top of the national agenda.
The tremendous power inherent in the educational talent of the Jewish heritage, makes every investment in it worthwhile. If we invest efforts and resources in education in Torah and science, we will merit raising and nurturing brilliant Torah scholars and scientists, and Jews throughout the world will want to immigrate to Israel in order to participate in developing Israel’s intellectual and spiritual creativity.
Even the nations of the world will say about us: “Surely, that great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6).
And the vision of the prophets will be fulfilled in us: “And many nations shall go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For from Zion shall the Torah go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:2).
We must accord tremendous honor to male and female teachers. Parents whose children choose teaching as a profession should be extremely proud of them, rather than regret that they did not choose a more lucrative profession.
For a person’s worth is not measured by the size of his salary, but by the extent to which he merits fulfilling the eternal values in his life.
And on this true scale, the male and female teachers who educate the children of Israel, stand very high.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
