Rabbi Eisenman
The
little girl had called her Morah and asked if she could help her with
some questions on the section of Navi (Prophets) they were learning
in school.
The
Morah was (of course) excited that one of her charges was so
motivated as to actually ask for help outside of the classroom and
told the girl that since she was going out she would even pick her up
on her way home.
The
student arrived and together the Morah and the child reviewed the
relevant parts of the Navi that she needed help in.
In
the course of the learning the student and Morah bonded in ways which
are so crucial and precious and often cannot be achieved in a formal
classroom setting.
Finally
it was the time to leave and the little girl asked if she could call
her mother to be picked up.
As
she was finalizing the arrangements for pick up with her mother, the
Morah overheard the little girl say to her mother, “Of course I am
going to say ‘thank you’; and yes, I will even say it
‘profusely’.”
The
student put down the phone, looked at her Morah and said with all of
the innocence and pristine purity that only a child can offer, “My
mother said I have to thank youPROFUSLEY.” And then the girl added,
“What did she think? That I wouldn’t thank you? Of course I
would!”
What
a wonderful example of proper Chinuch (education).
Naturally,
most of us are never inclined to be overly ‘profuse’ in our
expressions of gratitude.
We’d
rather think of ourselves as independent and self-sufficient.
We
never want to feel indebted to others and we would much rather be
viewed as the ‘one who is needed by others’ than the ‘one who
needs others’.
The
reality of the world is of course different.
We
all need each other; some days I need you more than you need me and
some days you need me more.
The
mother of this little girl was training and cultivating her child to
recognize this fact that she is indeed indebted to her Morah for the
extra time her Morah gave her.
On
their own, children (most often) do not recognize how indebted they
truly are to others.
Indeed,
most adults are still childlike with regard to gratitude.
We
tend to think of this world as a world of entitlement and privilege
for ourselves.
The
daughter has successfully absorbed this important lesson as she
stated, “Of course I would!”
If
only we can imitate the ways of the little girl and her Morah in our
daily lives.
