Abraham and Sarah's parenting teaches us that no sacrifice is too great when it comes to ensuring our children every possible advantage in Jewish education
By the Grace of G-d
14th of Cheshvan, 5736
Brooklyn. N. Y.
To All Participants in the Annual Dinner Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim of Morristown Branch of the United Lubavitcher Yeshivoth
G-d bless you all,
Greeting and Blessing:
...On the basis of the well-known tradition that the Weekly Portion of the Torah provides timely lessons for the event taking place during the particular week, it is enlightening to reflect on the section of this week’s Torah portion dealing with the problem that confronted Abraham and Sarah in connection with their son’s, Isaac’s, upbringing. Our Father Abraham was the very embodiment of loving kindness, and so was our Mother Sarah, as is clearly seen from various passages in the Torah, including the beginning of this week’s Sidra. Yet, when a problem arose about Isaac’s development, due to the undesirable influence by his half brother, Ishmael, the son of Sarah’s maidservant, both Sarah and Abraham found it necessary to suppress their natural kindness for the sake of Isaac’s healthy upbringing and development.
The said episode related in this week’s Sidra clearly teaches us how vital the Chinuch (education) of children is: that parents must be prepared to make sacrifices in terms of emotional strain and suppressing natural feelings, not to mention financial strain, in order to ensure the maximum possible advantages for their children’s Jewish education...
With blessing,
M. Schneerson
