As a child I was raised with the stories of Chassidic resistance behind the Iron Curtain. About the heroic men and women who sacrificed everything in order to educate their children Torah and Jewish traditions. Not only did they risk their lives to make Judaism available to their own families, they made superhuman efforts to educate and assist others in remaining loyal Jews.
My ancestors were involved in these dangerous endeavors and I was privileged to hear first-hand accounts from the protagonists themselves. Clearly, they were directly inspired by the example set forth by the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson, whose Yartzeit will be observed on 10 Shevat, this coming Wednesday. He became the leader of the global Chabad Lubavitch movement in the spring of 1920, after his father’s passing, just as the Communists were beginning their reign of terror over Russia. As the authorities destroyed organized Jewish life throughout the Soviet Union, the Previous Rebbe transformed his community of Chassidim into a massive network of activists, ready to preserve Jewish life underground at all costs. The main targets of the anti-religious Soviets were the Jewish schools, and the Previous Rebbe and his Chassidim worked tirelessly, at great personal risk, to respond to this specific crisis. When a Jewish school was shuttered, a Chabad Chossid showed up in town and provided Jewish classes for the local children. When he was caught and sent to the firing squad, a replacement was arranged immediately. In 1927, the Previous Rebbe was arrested on charges of treason, and his life was spared only through tremendous miracles. His cardinal sin was providing Jewish education for the very young. Many wondered why the Previous Rebbe, a venerable scholar in all areas of Torah, and a mentor and teacher to so many, chose to endanger every other demographic of Jewish life for the sake of ensuring young children learned the Alef Bet. In this week’s Parsha, when Pharaoh realized that Egypt was on the brink, he tried negotiating with Moshe: Perhaps the adults can take a three day journey into the desert to serve G-d while the children remained as collateral to guarantee their return? Moshe refused, because although adults actually perform the service, the children are an integral part of the community. Later in the Parsha, when G-d communicates the instructions of Pesach and other Mitzvot, He mentions on three separate occasions that the children will ask questions about the rituals and we are obligated to engage them on their level. Because education is the cornerstone of Judaism. Just as in times of religious persecution the Previous Rebbe was ready to sacrifice everything else for the sake of the youth, today, in times of religious freedom, the Jewish education of our children must be our greatest priority.