[COMMUNICATED] No one can deny it: Raising religious Jewish children in 2021 is harder than ever before. Mainstream culture grows farther and farther from traditional morality. Every kid with a phone has access to the entire world in the palm of their hand. And with the disruption and chaos of coronavirus, last year had devastating effects on the emotional health of students worldwide.
Experts noted during the lockdowns that children in abusive and dysfunctional homes were suffering without the option of school as a safe haven. Others lost loved ones, and saw their family torn apart by grief. Jewish educators know: Emotional health is spiritual health.
If parents & teachers are going to reverse the damage and influences done to Jewish children in the coming school year, they will need a plan.
Rosh Yeshiva Rav Binyamin Finkel shlit”a has a fascinating recommendation: “midah k’neged midah,” measure for measure, those who help the children who have lost parents, will merit to have nachas from their own kids. This month, a group of 45 orphaned brides & grooms in Israel will get married. Each of the couples is confirmed to be in a state of serious financial struggle. They need help to make a simple celebration, and to furnish the small apartments they will call home.
Rav Finkel wrote a powerful letter on behalf of the young men & women who have suffered so immensely, and blesses all those who donate to Vaad HaRabbanim on their behalf that their children should have success in the coming school year as well.
One day, each of us will pass away and leave our children behind. For some of us, it will be younger than we would have hoped. One can only hope that in that situation, someone else would step up into a parental role. Those who do this via Vaad HaRabbanim’s Av Orphan Campaign can rest assured that they are helping not only someone else’s children, but their own as well.
who said it keeps getting worse? perhaps its just getting more attention, but it was always a issue, and as we keep multiplying bez”h the ratio rises unfortunately
youre playing with fire in arguing with daas torah.
Da’as Torah didn’t say it’s getting worse. Da’as Torah asked for money for an important purpose. The rest is advertising copy.
The school situation in lakewood is definitely turning away allot of children from yidishkeit I know that as a fact.
You know for a fact LKWD has a higher then average rate of turning kids away from yideshkeit? Or you have a personal hate against Lakewood, which is causing you to turn a blind eye on the other school system’s, and their fall through rate!!
So what if they have internet cell phones; the Lakewood system may push them too hard or be a pain to some of them But the system does not abuse them or mislead them in any way.
This צער גידל בנים problem has been a problem for generations and is a problem in every community around the world.