It states (Yeshayah 27:6) ופרח יציץ יעקב ישרש הבאים ישראל, "Days are coming when Yaakov will take root, Yisrael will bud and blossom..." The pasuk is hinting to a lesson in chinuch. הבאים, When a new child comes to the world, יעקב ישרש, he immediately has an association with his ancestor, Yaakov Avinu. He is a descendant of the Avos and part of the Jewish nation. יעקב ישרש, implant this emunah into your children. Let them know that they are descendants of the holy Avos and have the great privilege to serve Hashem.
Teach it to them when they are young. If you do so, ופרח יציץ, your child will grow and reach high levels, ישראל, he will reach the high level of Yisrael. But if you don't teach this when the child is young, it is harder to implant these truths later in life.
It states (Tehillim 127:4) בני כן גבור ביד כחיצים הנעורים, "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of the youth." When one wants to shoot an arrow, if the arrow is in his hand, he can direct it. But after the arrow has left his hand, he can't return it. The same is true with children. As long as they are young, you can direct them, but after they become older, it is much harder.
We can also explain that the pasuk alludes to our previous lesson, that parents should love their children, and then it will be easier to lead them on the right path. When one shoots an arrow at a target, his success in hitting the target depends on how close he is to the target. Children are the same. If you want to direct children on the right path, your success depends on how close you are to the children. הנעורים בני כן, the same is with youth. If you are close to them and bestow your love and warmth onto them, it will be easier to direct them on the right path. But if you are distant from them, it is much harder.
There are six primary arei miklat. Three in Eretz Yisrael proper and three on the other side of the Yarden. In this week's parashah, Moshe Rabbeinu prepared the six in הירדן עבר, on the other side of the Yarden. As it states (4:41-42) בעבר ערים שלש משה יבדיל אז בבלי רעהו את ירצח אשר רוצח שמה לנוס שמש מזרחה הירדן דעת, "Then Moshe set aside three cities on the bank of the Yarden, toward the rising sun, for a killer to flee there, who will have killed his fellow without knowledge." Rashi explains that they won't function until the three in Eretz Yisrael are established. Nevertheless, Moshe said, "A mitzvah that has come to my hands, I will perform it."
The Gemara asks that the division –three arei miklat in Eretz Yisrael and three in עבר הירדן – seems disproportionate. Most of Bnei Yisrael lived in Eretz Yisrael proper, whereas in הירדן עבר, there were just two-and-a-half tribes (Reuvan, Gad, and half of Menasheh). Yet, they both had the same number of arei miklat! The Gemara replies, "In Gilad (on the other side of the Yarden), there were many murderers." Therefore, three arei miklat were needed in הירדן עבר. Following the path of mussar, we can explain that there were more murderers from הירדן עבר because their fathers weren't home to educate them. For fourteen years, the fathers were in Eretz Yisrael proper to help conquer the land from the Canaanites and then help divide the portions. All this time, they weren't with their children. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that the children didn’t have the best chinuch.
(Obviously, we aren't judging that generation, which we don't have the slightest understanding of their holiness and kedushah. Nevertheless, we learn from this that parents must pay attention to their children to know where they spend their time, who their friends are, and so on.)
