Introduction
In modern society, both Jewish and non-Jewish, teaching is regarded as an honored profession
(albeit not an especially lucrative one). In the world of the shtetl
(Eastern European village), however, the melamed, or teacher of small
children, typically was an impoverished scholar untrained for any other work,
to whom an equally impoverished clientele entrusted their youngsters to receive
the rudiments of religious instruction. For this inglorious position the
teacher was neither trained and paid a reasonable wage, nor even respected by
the community. Not surprisingly, many melamdim, frustrated with their
lot, showed little tolerance for their students' childish antics. No doubt
there is wisdom in King Solomon's axiom, "Spare the rod and spoil the
child"; however, the resort to harshness and corporal punishment on the
part of old-world teachers was sometimes excessive, to the emotional detriment
of the children and their future relation to religious studies. This is the
problem Reb Shimshon Barsky addresses in his letter below.
Reb Shimshon, a
descendant of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, was one of the foremost teachers in
Uman's Breslov community prior to the Stalinist purges. This letter was written
in the early 1930's, immediately prior to the breakup of the community and the
murder, imprisonment, or forced exile of its members. After Reb Shimshon passed away in 1935, his family escaped to Poland, and a number of his descendents now live in
Eretz Yisrael and in the Chassidic community of Brooklyn, NY.
The letter is one of
three such documents printed at the beginning of Reb Shimshon's classic Breslov
work, Likutei Eitzos Ivri-Teitch ("Rebbe Nachman's Collected Advice
Explained in Yiddish"), reprinted in 1978. A Hebrew translation recently
was published as Gevuros Shimshon.
Reb Shimshon Barsky's Letter
May G-d be blessed
To my dear son, Noson,
and his entire family, may they live:
Please tell me about
my precious, esteemed grandson, Yisrael, may he live long: if he now attends
cheder (school), if he knows the Hebrew letters and vowel points, and if
the melamed (instructor) has taught him the blessings for the varieties
of food and drink, and so forth.
No excuses: the
melamed should treat him pleasantly in every way, and never frighten or
threaten him at all, for any reason. The mind of a child is extremely
sensitive. Therefore, one must never frighten a child or threaten him for any
reason, so that he should come to no harm, G-d forbid.
Also, tell the melamed
that he must never display anger or rage - no excuses!
He must not inculcate
fear in the child, neither while teaching him the prayer book nor while
teaching him the blessings, etc. Rather, he should relate to the child with a
calm, pleasant manner, without anger or harshness, so as not to upset him.
Without any excuses,
he should fulfill everything I have written in this letter, and may G-d help
you to raise all your children in the ways of Torah and good deeds, with
material blessings and emotional gratification (nachas).
Your father,
Shimshon
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