Parents once came to the Rabbi with their 5-year old daughter to ask for advice in providing her with the best Jewish education. “I’m sorry”, replied the Rabbi. “You are six years too late”.
In this week’s parsha we learn of the first Jewish grandchild embarking on a journey to find a wife and to start a family. Yitzchak instructed Yaakov not to choose a wife from the local Cannanite families, rather he should travel to Charan and seek out a wife from the family of Lavan.
There is a big contrast between these two locations. Canaan was the land Avraham had lived in for 100 years and operated the greatest outreach operation to date, inspiring the world with the knowledge of G-d. It was the current domain under the influence of Yitzchak and the academies of Shem and Ever, where Yaakov had studied for decades, were located there as well. This was definitely the ideal place for Yaakov to choose to raise a family in the ways of G-d.
Charan on the other hand was a land of utter corruption and moral decay. The citizens were lazy cheats and thieves and Lavan held the honorary title of chief swindler. Was Yaakov expected to raise a family in this decrepit environment?
Above the reality of our physical world there are multitudes of spiritual galaxies populated by an infinite amount of heavenly angels. Their existence is filled with the knowledge of G-d and His service with no deviation whatsoever. However, when it came time for the Torah to be granted to a race of creatures, it was not bequeathed to the angels in heaven. Rather to physical mortals on planet Earth.
Why so? Surely the Torah would be observed in the greatest way possible in the realm of the angels. There is no risk of laziness, rebellion or malicious misinterpretation. By giving it to human beings with the power of free choice, it stands a high risk of being rejected or worse.
The answer is simple and straightforward. The true character of children is not determined by their behavior under the dedicated supervision of their parents, rather by the way they live up to their standards when living independently. When Mom and Dad are not around, it becomes clear what the child’s priorities are.
Therefore, the Torah was given to humans in this world, a reality far removed from constant G-dly awareness to prove that flesh and blood empowered with free choice would choose to follow the Torah. Dutiful angels are no big deal.
This is the lesson we learn from Yaakov raising his family in Charan of all places. The first Jewish family set the standard for Jewish education for all time. One does not need to be in a large Jewish community, saturated with synagogues, schools and kosher restaurants to succeed in imparting our glorious heritage to the next generation. Even a single family in a spiritual desert can and must thrive in their Jewishness just as the family of Yaakov did in the G-d forsaken land of Charan.
Jewish education in the small communities is the golden standard of our forefather Yaakov.