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Orchard of Delights Bo

Taking a step backwards, we might ask what induced this feeling (Exodus 13:8). The message this last verse teaches is that if for some
of unity among the people? A credible answer may be that their reason the child fails to ask (either due to his or her youth or because
recent prophetic experience during the crossing of the Reed Sea and of a lack of natural inquisitiveness), the adult need not wait to be
especially during the singing of the Song of the Sea (see “Music and prompted, he or she should initiate the conversation.
Prophecy” above), inculcated a sense of oneness and unity among In instructing the adult to speak to this child, the Haggadah uses
the people, of their being “as one person with one heart.”
the somewhat unusual formulation, “You open [for] him.” Since the
Another factor could be the battle with Amalek, the last episode Hebrew word used for “you” (at) here takes the feminine form, many
related in the Torah before the Jewish people arrived at Mount Sinai. commentators point out the crucial role women play in children’s
Only by attaining a high level of determination, unity, and a sense of education, in general, and in young children’s education, in particular.
purpose could the children of Israel have defeated an enemy whose The loving warmth accompanying a mother’s transmission of
very purpose is the destruction of the Jewish people. Time after time fundamental Torah ideals to her child creates a lasting bond between
in recent Jewish history we have seen the people of Israel, despite that child and Jewish tradition and values.
their many differences and disputes, come together “as one person Our Rabbis glean another deep insight from the fact that the word
with one heart” to defeat enemies bent on their destruction.
“you,” in Hebrew, contains two letters, an alef and a tav, the first and
Both the experience at the Reed Sea and the battle with Amalek last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. From the Haggadah’s usage of
transformed the people, endowing them with a feeling of unity and a the word “you,” which includes in a sense all the letters from alef to
sense of purpose. This consciousness was translated into their arrival tav, we may infer that when a child first begins to learn the Hebrew
at Sinai “as one person with one heart” and consequently led to letters, if presented properly, they have the power to “open up” the
the awesome and unique historical experience of the Giving of the child’s consciousness. There is a beautiful custom that emphasizes
Torah. this idea. When young children first begin to learn the Hebrew
letters, they are given cookies in the shape of the letters dipped in
honey to eat. As they learn each letter, they are presented with the
appropriate cookie; this truly leaves a sweet and lasting impression.
An even deeper insight about how the Hebrew letters should be
taught to young children – who at such an age are “open books,”
ready and willing to absorb and integrate new ideas – can be garnered
from this allusion to the entire Hebrew alphabet. As discussed a
number of times in this book, the Hebrew letters are infinite channels
of Divine wisdom and energy that are manifest at every level of
reality (“Blessed is the One Who Spoke”; “The Paradoxical Nature
of Names, the Hebrew Letters, and the Mitzvot”). They are truly the
building blocks of the universe.
Although the Hebrew letters are profound beyond description there
are relatively simple models to teach their vast applicability. I had
the great privilege of assisting Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh in writing
the now classic book The Hebrew Letters, wherein the properties of

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