This week we Bentch Rosh Chodesh Iyar. The Moled will be Wednesday morning 41 minutes and 8 Chalakim after 11. Rosh Chodesh is Wednesday and Thursday.
There is a minhag in Am Yisrael, namely by the Sefardim, not to cut challah or any bread with a knife, but rather to rip it by hand. The reason given is that bread represents life, and a knife represents the taking of life, so the two don’t go together. The minhag by acheinu, the Ashkenazim, is to use a knife on the challah, and many Chasidim even sharpen the knife on Friday so it will be good and ready for Shabbat, despite the concern of putting a knife and bread together. I have adopted the minhag of Ashkenazim and use a knife for bread, and I even sharpen it on Friday. The reason why I do so is that I have discovered that there is something worse than death, and that is the waste of life. When I broke the challah by hand, I realized that much was going to waste, because it was less appetizing when ripped in an odd shape. It is more important to avoid the waste of something that supports life.
The Zohar on Daf 57a in Parashat Acharei Mos presents a question on the pasuk “Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they approached before Hashem, and they died.” The pasuk already said the death of Aaron’s two sons, why was it repeated at the end of the pasuk? The Zohar explained that they had two deaths; firstly, Hashem took them away, and secondly, they did not have children.
How sad it must have been for Aaron to live through this. How painful it is for a person who has never married and has no children. But there is something even more painful, and that is creating life and letting it go to waste; having children, and yet not helping them reach their potential. A wasted life is worse than no life.
As we say goodbye to the month of Nissan and the yom tov of Pesach, the lesson we should take away from Pesach is very clear. The beauty of the chag is our focus on the children. The holiday commemorates the birth of the Jewish people, and is a time when the emphasis is on the children. We need to engage them in the conversation via storytelling. We must understand that there were always four types of children, and each is different but very special. Even the question of the Rasha must be answered. Remember, it is “vehegadeta lebincha;” we mustn’t fall into the trap of “vehegadta leavicha,” that the child does all the talking and explaining.
Now that the holiday is behind us, we should carry this experience forward. It is our responsibility to educate, and we need to prepare and show an example. The challenge of having a school system like the one we have today is that we forget that it’s not the obligation of the Rebbe, the Morah, or the principal to teach our children; it is ours.
May we be zoche to see much nachas from our children, and may they always follow the ways of Hashem.
