Tuesday, September 28, 2010

D'var Torah: Bereishit

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la-asok b’divrei Torah.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to engage in Torah study.

This week’s torah portion tells the story of creation. As one who doesn’t always know the stories, I thought I’d start by giving a brief overview. In Bereishit we learn that G-d created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. G-d made the Garden of Eden and created Adam and Eve to live there. G-d welcomes Adam and Eve to eat from any tree in the Garden, except for the Tree of All Knowledge. Fruit from that tree is forbidden. Adam and Eve give in to temptation, eat from the tree and are exiled. They must now work for their food and existence. They have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel and is punished by G-d, sentenced to wander the earth. Adam and Eve go on to have another son named Seth. The Torah lists the generations from Adam to Noah. At the end of the portion, G-d is regretting having created man and decides to destroy the earth and, with it, man’s wickedness, but Noah has found favor with G-d.

As I was reading this story I was struck by so many points. First of all, how interesting that we begin a new school year at the same time we start at the beginning of the Torah. As we are creating our school and classroom environments, we are reading how G-d created the world. The Garden of Eden was an idyllic place where man and woman would have everything they could want or need. They had no shame as they walked around the garden in their nakedness and felt completely comfortable with themselves. While our schools and classroom are not always idyllic, we certainly do our best to create environments that give each child what he or she needs, where they can feel confident, capable, and competent.

When thinking about the fact that Adam and Eve could not eat the forbidden fruit, I wondered about what is forbidden in our schools and classrooms. What restrictions do we place on children? How do we teach them self-control? To resist yetzer hara, an evil inclination, and embrace yetzer tov, an inclination towards good? Along with everything we teach young children, we must help them to learn when to resist impulses and when they can and should try something new. For our youngest students, we model turn-taking and give them the words to ask for, rather than grab, a toy. As the children get a little older, we talk to them about their “plans” for their day in the classroom. We listen when they ask why they cannot do, or have, something. We often ask the children why they think something is restricted. Sometimes, these conversations result in giving the child permission. Other times we help them understand our thinking.

As I’ve come to find out, quite recently as a matter of fact, reading Torah is truly a thought provoking endeavor. Reading this portion, Bereishit, at this time of year, has helped me to stay mindful of the environment I want to create and the skills and qualities I hope to cultivate in each child that enters my classroom.