Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber
Teaching sixth grade affords me the unique opportunity to glance through the eyes of children. A sixth grade
boy is often mature enough to comprehend his surround-
ings and what is “going on”, yet he still has the innocence
of a young child.
The Russian Ukrainian conflict is somewhat foreign
to most adults. Most have not traveled there or may not
even know anyone there. There are news clips, videos,
and pictures yet it is hard to connect to the pain and suf-
fering that our brethren there are going through.
For children this is even harder as this is so distant from
them. The gedolim conveyed the importance of davening
for our brethren by instituting a Yom Tefillah on Erev
Rosh Chodesh Adar when many would daven Yom Kippur
Katan or say Tehillim.
In our Yeshiva K’tana of Waterbury we were scheduled
to say Tehillim five minutes before mincha. I tried to ex-
plain to the boys of my class the importance of this and
offered a suggestion to hopefully help them. Close your
eyes for five seconds, read one passuk and think about if
your brother was running to a bomb shelter. Close your
eyes and think about if your brother may wake up one
morning and he no longer had a place to live and the only
possessions he had were his clothes on his back. Imagine
if your brother spent 40 hours on a bus fleeing the coun-
try and may never return.
The time for Tehillim came and the Menahel spoke and
was also mechazek the boys. The Tehillim began and I scanned
the faces of the boys in my class. Some had their eyes closed
and were off in the pure world of Tefillah. Another had his
two hands covering his face as he swayed to the words, “From
the depths I call you.” I was moved and couldn't hold back
my own tears. I turned around facing the wall to continue my
own now heartfelt Tefillah. The children understand, and very
often they are the ones who are mechazek us.
