Rabbi Peretz Chen | From children to leaders - how to turn our children into people of influence

00:00 Hello, everyone. Today I want to talk about a tip that will propel our children forward. It has tremendous value in general, and its benefit for our children is beyond measure. To understand what I mean, let’s start with some background. We’re living through a very, very challenging time. There are hostages in Gaza, and we don’t know whether war will break out in the north. What will happen? What won’t happen? The situation is very uncertain. And when we think about what we can do to help bring the hostages home and give strength to the Jewish people, who can really know what needs to be done? One way to understand what’s right to do now is to look back and see what Jews did when the Jewish people faced situations resembling what’s happening today. So in today’s lesson, we’ll talk about what we did in the past, consider what we can and should do today, and see how it all connects to our children—to a very powerful action they can take. As I said, with Hashem’s help, it will certainly help the situation, and it will also give them something tremendous for their self-confidence, their personal growth, and their inner strength. So let’s begin. We’re in a time when there are hostages, a challenging time. Let’s go back a little in history and see what Jews did with children at a time like this. Let’s go to a period not too long ago: 1976. An Air France plane was hijacked en route and taken to Uganda. There, many, many Jews found themselves held captive, and negotiations began for the hostages’ release in exchange for all kinds of outrageous, imagined demands that the

02:40 hijackers wanted to secure. The government here in Israel began slow negotiations with them, while preparing for a daring operation—the operation later called Operation Yonatan, after Yoni Netanyahu, may Hashem avenge his blood, who was killed in that operation. Of course, an operation like this was complicated and full of risks. Who knew what might happen? It meant traveling far away to a foreign country. One advantage was that the army here in Israel knew the exact layout of the airport there, because Israel had helped build it. That was an advantage, but it was still a very, very complex operation. At that time, the Lubavitcher Rebbe asked Jewish children to strengthen their recitation of the Twelve Pesukim, which the Rebbe had taught them a short time earlier—twelve verses from the Torah and the teachings of our Sages that the Rebbe said every Jewish child should know. The first verse: “The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov.” The next verse: “Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” And so on, twelve verses. It’s told that in those days there was a large gathering of Torah schools in Jerusalem—not Chabad schools—and the Rebbe asked that people make sure those Twelve Pesukim were recited at that gathering too. There were two chassidim living in Jerusalem then, and they went and made sure it happened. In that way, they saw to it that the children said what children needed to say. And thank G-d, we saw miracles in Operation Yonatan. Though the operation brought the deep pain of several Jews being killed there, in the end the hostages returned to Israel, and the soldiers all returned safe and sound except, as I mentioned, Yoni Netanyahu, may Hashem avenge his blood, who was killed there. Here we saw and understood the power of children reciting pesukim. The special quality of children is that their breath—the breath of schoolchildren learning Torah—is called “breath without sin.” Children are pure and innocent; there is nothing bad in them. Everything about them is pure and unspoiled. So when they recite pesukim, that has the power to break through all the heavens. As it says in Tehillim, “Out of the mouths of children and infants You have established strength.” And what is the power of children and infants? “To silence the enemy and the avenger.” It silences all enemies and all who seek revenge. Children bring strength, power, and blessing, so that we succeed in all our missions. Let’s travel a little further back in history, to the Purim story. Purim is almost here; everyone is already getting ready, some mishloach manos have already been bought, and everyone has settled on costumes. On Purim, a very, very harsh decree was issued against the Jewish people. Mordechai the Jew, as their leader, the one who took responsibility for the whole situation, was concerned: What would happen? How would things turn out? The Midrash tells us that one day Mordechai the Jew was walking down the street and saw three children coming home from school. He approached them to speak with them. The Midrash also says that Haman the wicked happened to be passing by. When he saw this, he too came over and listened to hear what Mordechai the Jew would say to the children returning from school. Mordechai the Jew turned to the first child and said, “Tell me, child, what did you learn in school today? Recite your verse for me. What did you learn today?” The first child replied, “We learned the verse, ‘Do not fear sudden terror, or the devastation of the wicked when it comes.’” The second child said they had learned the verse, “‘Form a plan, and it will be thwarted; speak a word, and it will not stand, for G-d is with us.’” And the third child said, “We learned the verse, ‘Even to old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will bear you. I have made you, and I will carry you

05:13 It’s called “breath.” The breath of schoolchildren is called breath free of sin. Children are pure and innocent; there is nothing bad in them. Everything about them is pure and guileless. So when they come and recite verses, that has the power to break through all the heavens. As it says in Tehillim, “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength.” And what is the power of babes and sucklings? “To silence foe and avenger.” It silences all the enemies and avengers. Children bring us strength, power, and blessing to succeed in all our missions. Let’s go a little further back in history, to the story of Purim. Purim is just around the corner; everyone is already preparing. Some of the mishloach manos have already been bought, and everyone has settled on their costumes. Now, on Purim, a very, very harsh decree had been issued against the Jewish people. Mordechai the Jew, as their leader, the one who had taken responsibility for the whole situation, was worried about what would happen and how things would turn out. The Midrash relates that one day, Mordechai the Jew was walking down the street when he saw three children coming home from school. Mordechai went over to speak with them. The Midrash also tells us that Haman the wicked happened to be passing by, and when he saw this, he too drew near and listened to hear what Mordechai would say to those children returning from school. Mordechai turned to the first child and said, “Tell me, child, what did you learn in school today? Tell me your verse—what did you learn in school today?” The first child answered, “We learned the verse, ‘Do not fear sudden terror, or the devastation of the wicked when it comes.’” The second child told him that they had learned the verse, “Devise a plan and it will be thwarted; speak a word and it will not stand, for G-d is with us.” And the third child told him, “We learned the verse, ‘Even to old age I am He, and even to gray hairs I will bear you; I have made, and I will carry.’”

07:34 and I will bear you and deliver you.’” The Midrash tells us that when Mordechai the Jew heard these verses from the children, he rejoiced greatly. When Haman heard them, he became so angry that he said, “These are the children I will strike first!” G-d forbid. He didn’t say “G-d forbid,” of course; I’m adding that. What is special about those verses? The verses the children recited speak of very strong faith. The first verse, “Do not fear sudden terror, or the devastation of the wicked when it comes,” says there is no need to fear some sudden fright, some event that might happen, some time of trouble. Do not fear sudden terror. There is no need to be afraid. The second verse says even more: “Form a plan, and it will be thwarted.” You may make harmful plans against us, but every one of them will be thwarted; they will all come to nothing. Why? “For G-d is with us.” The first verse didn’t say why these things wouldn’t happen; it only said not to be afraid. The second adds, “For G-d is with us,” because Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with us. The third verse carries a message of faith even stronger than the first two. Sometimes a person is troubled by things: war is troubling; hardship is troubling. But sometimes there are no wars or troubles, and everything is normal, yet a person is troubled by life itself. People grow older, they age. Suddenly their back hurts; suddenly something else becomes difficult; suddenly walking isn’t... Things suddenly change from how they used to be, and a person worries: What will happen? What will happen? The verse says, “Even to old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will bear you.” Even when old age comes, when gray hairs come, where does that come from? Does it happen on its own? The verse says, “I have made you”—Hashem made it happen. “I will carry you, and I will bear you and deliver you.” I will bring the person through the difficulties. In other words, even when this happens

09:40 This is happening under My direction. I, Hashem, am running it. What are you worried about? Do you think things that happen suddenly, as time goes by, happen on their own? No, it’s Me. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is running things. So if our Father is running things, what is there to worry about? When Mordechai the Jew hears Jewish children coming home from school, and the message they’re bringing home is one of confidence, faith, hope, optimism—that everything will be all right—he says, “Oh, now I know it will be all right.” Because if that’s what has entered the minds of Jewish children, and it doesn’t just enter their minds in class and then disappear—when they leave the classroom, they take it home with them. Those are the messages they’ll pass on to their parents. If those are the messages Jewish children are living with, everything will be all right. Children have strength; they have tremendous power. The education they grow up with will influence their parents. It will also shape the next generation, because these are our children. That’s why Mordechai knew, why he was happy and at ease. And Haman, who understood that if this was how Jewish children thought, things weren’t looking good for him, became terribly, terribly angry. In other words, the children, the Torah they learn, the education they receive, the messages they hear, the Twelve Pesukim they say—all this has tremendous power, because it enters their very being. The power of education, the education they receive, changes the present picture and will change the future picture. Recently, I happened to become aware of something. I hadn’t realized the extent to which one of the things the Muslims—the enemies of Israel there—invest in is

11:38 education. One of the main things they invest in is educating children in ways they believe in—cruel, harsh, antisemitic ways. And they invest resources in it not only in Gaza or the Palestinian Authority. In Europe, in England, in France, in Turkey, in the United States—everywhere—they invest in education. They know that this is how they’ll raise a generation that follows a particular path. In other words, even the other side, the evil in the world, understands that the secret lies in education. So we certainly need to understand that too. We see it around Operation Entebbe: the effort to have Jewish children say special verses from the Torah, because the children are the source of strength. In the Purim story, Mordechai is reassured when he hears the Jewish children. The strength lies with the children. So, first of all, we need to educate our own children, of course, right? But there’s a way to do it that I want to tell you about, and it can make a powerful difference for your children, for our children. We spoke earlier about the Twelve Pesukim, how important it is to say them, and the Rebbe said that every Jewish child should know them. We can arrange for our children to teach those same Twelve Pesukim to other children in their building or neighborhood. How do we do that? If you’re not used to it, it might sound far-fetched. What? Where? How? But I want to tell you from personal experience—and not just my own—that it really isn’t complicated at all. Let me give you an example, something people in the community do in the neighborhood where I serve as a shliach. Say you live in an apartment building. You send a message to the building’s WhatsApp group saying that on Shabbos at four or four-thirty in the afternoon, in the building’s lobby,

14:06 residents’ lounge, or courtyard—it doesn’t matter where—the children will say pesukim. You can call it a Tehillim gathering, or whatever you like, and they’ll also get a treat. Maybe the first time it won’t go so well, and you’ll have to call the children over, or only a few will come. But you’ll see that each time more children will join, and it will become part of life in the building, the neighborhood, the street, because the children will enjoy coming. They get a treat at the end, which is nice, and the parents will be very grateful, because every parent wants their children to say Tehillim and verses from the Torah. Many children don’t get that at school, or even at home, but their parents are still happy about it. They want it. I see it in our neighborhood. There’s a Jewish man here who isn’t a Chabad chossid—he’s [unclear] or something—and every Shabbos he sends a WhatsApp message. He lives in a cluster of about five buildings. Every Shabbos the children wait for him there, and the parents are happy. The parents even bring him candies: “Here, give these out.” They’re so grateful for that bit of Yiddishkeit he gives their children. Now, if your children do this, it makes them leaders. It makes them the ones who set the tone around them. And there’s a principle our Sages teach, a principle found in halachah: someone who is busy giving doesn’t absorb whatever the street has to offer; he doesn’t absorb the nonsense. Suddenly, our children will see themselves as guides, as examples for others. They’ll feel that more is expected of them, that they should be better people. After all, I’m the one giving and teaching

16:08 everyone around me about very, very special things. This might sound a bit... But no, I’ll tell you even more. For quite a few years now, every Shabbos afternoon I’ve gone to a huge park in my neighborhood, full of children and playground equipment. It’s a major park that people come to from the neighborhood, the surrounding area, and all over the city. I go there too and teach the children. I call them over—children, dozens of children—and we call out the Twelve Pesukim together. A few weeks ago, I arrived and saw a boy doing it too. A young boy, holding a container, a plastic box of sour candies, and doing the same thing. He had a booklet with the Twelve Pesukim and a few chapters of Tehillim, including Shir Hamaalos, and he was saying the Tehillim and the pesukim. I looked at him and couldn’t understand what was going on. Then his father, who knows I do this there every Shabbos, said to me, “Yes, my son wants to do it too. He wants to do it too.” I haven’t seen him lately, but I’ve heard that after I finish, he usually comes and does it, and the children gather again. Why wouldn’t they? Another sour candy. They come, and I was amazed. Here’s a boy of maybe twelve or thirteen, doing this on his own initiative. A whole group of children comes, he calls out the pesukim and the Tehillim, and they repeat after him. It’s not complicated. The children want it, and the parents are so proud of it. The vast, vast majority of parents will be very, very grateful. Every week I hear people say, “Thank you so much. Thank you. Well done. How wonderful.” People appreciate it. Also

17:51 People who, outwardly, don’t look to me like people who observe the lighter mitzvos as carefully as the stricter ones—and sadly, perhaps even less than that. And when the children do this, it will give them tremendous strength. It will lift them to another level, a higher level. So there’s a gain all around. We gain, too, when Jewish children recite verses—verses of Torah, powerful verses that will give us the strength to face and overcome every difficulty, bring the hostages home, with Hashem’s help, and win all the wars. As it says in Tehillim, “From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength, to silence the enemy and the avenger.” That is what silences the enemies. We’ll gain that, and the children will gain something personally as well—something much stronger. They’ll gain something beyond what other children have, because they’ll become positive leaders among other children. So may it be Hashem’s will that, just as in the Purim story we ultimately prevailed through the merit of Jewish children and the self-sacrifice they showed then, and just as in the Entebbe story we mentioned earlier there was ultimately a rescue beyond anything anyone imagined, which amazed the whole world in an extraordinary way, we should see miracles in our time as in those days. May we have much nachas from our children. May our children bring light, goodness, and positivity to those around them. And with Hashem’s help, may things be good—may they be good. May we once again have nachas from our children; may the hostages return, and may the soldiers—all the soldiers—come home healthy and whole. May we merit the coming of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead. And this lesson carries a message that anyone can put into practice. I’m telling you, there’s no need to be afraid or apprehensive. There’s nothing to fear here. It’s easy. It takes a little organizing, and then it’s up and running. It gets started, finds its feet, and that’s it. Before long, it becomes the established way of doing things, lasting for many good days and years, until the coming of Moshiach, soon. So if this—if this value, this idea

20:06 speaks to you, share it with a friend. Share it with a friend, so that we may merit blessing and success. Thank you very much. May we hear good news. All the best.