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HOLIDAY READING

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

take advantage of one moment and The menorah is on the right side as we light a menorah in the bathroom but
then become complacent. Chinuch exit our homes and head out into the then put it outside my home or on
ְ
requires ך ֵ לֹוה ְ ו ףי ִ סֹומ, to always add on, street. There, we, and our children, my dining room table, do I fulfill the
teach more, share more inspiration, will encounter foreign values, outside mitzvah? The Gemara concludes
and to continue the conversation of influences, pressures of assimilation ה ָ ו ְ צ ִ מ ה ָ ׂשֹוע ה ָ ק ָ ל ְ ד ַ ה, the mitzvah is to
life. Our children never truly graduate and challenges to our faith. We see light, kindle and ignite a flame. This
from the academy of our homes and the light of the menorah as we head is our duty with chinuch, to light the
they never complete the teachings of out and remind ourselves of our duty flame in those around us.
their parents. and responsibility to illuminate the
ְ
We must be ך ֵ לֹוה ְ ו ףי ִ סֹומ, continue to world, dispel the darkness, and share Revealing What Was Inside
the light of Torah.
influence, inspire and motivate them Lastly, the purpose of the candles is
each and every day, never allowing The Role of the Kitchen to illuminate the darkness. When we
ourselves to feel too tired to trans- Table in Chinuch light the menorah, we reveal what was
mit a lesson or too exhausted to take there all along and simply needed a
advantage of a teachable moment. The halacha continues that ן ַ מְז ִּ ב light to shine on it.
הָנ ָּ כ ַ ס in a time of danger, we bring
On the Way in and on the Way Out the menorah inside and put it on the In chinuch, says the Piascezno, we
table. are just revealing what is latent inside
The Gemara continues: ה ָ ו ְ צ ִ מ ה ָּ כֻנ ֲ ח רֵנ the child all along. We illuminate the
ץּוח ַּ ב ִ מ ֹותי ֵּ ב ח ַ ת ֶ פ ְּ ב ּ ה ָ חיִּנ ַ ה ְ ל, the proper I believe that similarly in chinuch, way for him or her and allow them to
place for the menorah is just outside when it is a time of danger in which break through and become the people
of the home. The simple understand- we are losing children to unhealthy they are meant to be.
ing is that this placement will allow behaviors, lack of spirituality or
for the greatest publicizing of the mir- observance and more, we need to Michelangelo put it best when he
acle, which is our ultimate goal. bring them into the home and to our described his process of sculpting: “In
tables. Nothing can substitute for the every block of marble, I see a statue
But there is something deeper. We impact of spending time with our as plain as though it stood before me,
are told the menorah goes on the left children and doing so around the shaped and perfect in attitude and in
side so it is opposite the mezuzah and table with discussion, singing, conver- action. I have only to hew away the
we are thus surrounded by mitzvot. sation, genuine interest in their lives,
It is strange, however, that we would sharing of stories and divrei Torah, rough walls that imprison the lovely
violate our usual rule of giving defer- and a healthy exchange of ideas. apparition to reveal it to the other
ence to the right side in order to be Many studies have shown that drug eyes as mine see it.”
surrounded. Why not light the meno- use among teens is inversely propor-
rah right under the mezuzah and have tional to the number of nights the Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Rabbi of the
both on the right? Because right and family has dinner around the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), Florida.
left aren’t absolute directions; they are table together. הָנ ָּ כ ַ ס ן ַ מְז ִּ ב, bring
relative to one’s perspective. the menorah inside and to the

In truth, both the mezuzah and meno- table.
rah are on the “right” side of the door.
The mezuzah is on the right when Igniting the Flame
one walks into the home. We take the The Gemara debates
values that the mezuzah represents whether ה ָ ו ְ צ ִ מ ה ָ ׂשֹוע ה ָ חָּנ ַ ה
and stands for and remind ourselves or ה ָ ו ְ צ ִ מ ה ָ ׂשֹוע ה ָ ק ָ ל ְ ד ַ ה. Is
of the unity of Hashem’s existence, the obligation to light the
about loving Hashem and loving menorah, or rather to place
others, and about bringing holiness a lit menorah in the proper
into our lives as we enter our home. location? For example, if I

The fate of the Jews in the diaspora was, is and predictably will
be, determined by their commitment to Jewish education. | 33
RABBI SACKS