When Is the Work of a Parent Complete?

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The Torah records the events of the first -world war in history, the battle between the 4 kings and the 5 kings. The war earned its way into the Torah because Avraham’s nephew Lot was captured and Avraham sought to save him. Of the many lessons to be gleaned from the episode, Hashem embedded a message on Chinuch. Pasuk…-and he armed his students. Rashi takes note of the word Chanichav, that it derives from the word chinuch and he records a definition that serves as the foundation of every parent’s obligation to educate children.

HaRav Meir Shapiro of Lublin draws from Rashi’s definition a most powerful message. Rashi explains chinuch to be the introduction of a person for the first time to some particular occupation in which he is intended to remain in it for the long term. Says the Lubliner Rav, the teacher’s or parent’s success is acknowledged only after the child or disciple remains steadfast in the future in what he was taught as a child. In other words, if a person walks away from the chinuch of his youth, the mitzvah of chinuch was never fulfilled through that child.

HaRav  Moshe Feinstein z”l expressed a similar idea, that a parent’s role as a mechanech never ends even after the children have grown to adulthood and prominence. The parent needs to continue to mechanech his children to ensure that the lessons of youth remain steadfast for eternity.

The message of the Lubliner Rav, HaRav Moshe and ultimately Rashi’s commentary on the pasuk should serve as a guiding light for all Torah families especially in the wake of the recent PEW report that finds intermarriage and assimilation wrecking havoc on Judaism. We as parents, mechanchim and members of kl’al Yisroel must commit ourselves to the chinuch of our children for 120+.

A gutten Shabbos

Rabbi I Pliner