Years ago when Yadid was eleven he came home all excited that they were learning a Mishnah at school that we learned together. Not shocking, it was from Elu Metziyot. There are a few reasons that it is customary to start learning Mishnah with Elu Metziyot, but one is assuming that teaching children the laws of lost and found will start them off with a real life application and lifelong framework of personal responsibility. I was thinking about that this weeks ago when we started reading Vayikra, the book of Leviticus. It is choked full of rules regarding korbanot, sacrifices. About this the Midrash shares it imagination of educational philosophy. There we read:

Rav Assi said that young children began their Torah studies with Leviticus and not with Genesis because young children are pure, and the sacrifices explained in Leviticus are pure, so the pure studied the pure. (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3.)

I understand why people might think that the story of Genesis is too nuanced or smutty to be a young child’s initiation to learning. But, just because we are not starting off with the Garden of Eden does not mean that we should start off with all of the blood and gore and guts of Leviticus.

The word “korban” (sacrifice) derives from the word that means “that which is brought close.” Bringing a korban was not just the process of bringing something up to the Tabernacle or Temple, but the process of becoming closer.  Maybe this is what we need to be teaching our children. But, why am I addressing this today?

In this week’s Torah portion of Bechukotai we read the end of the book of Leviticus. In this portion we read about God’s promise of prosperity and security if we keep the Torah coupled with our rebuke and exile if we do not keep the Torah. This articulates a rather plain system of reward and punishment. But the Torah does not stop there. Then we read:

Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away; nor will I ever abhor them, to destroy them and to break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. (Leviticus 26:44)

Beyond any system of reward and punishment, God’s love is unconditional. But what does this have to do with any educational philosophy about how we teach our children?

I have been thinking about all of this recently as Yishama is winding down his senior year at high school. He finished up his classes weeks ago, then he did his APs, then we did his Senior X project which he is presenting on today, and last night he played piano in the end of year arts festival. Clearly the Rabbis had deep ideas about how we start the educational process that is linked to the start of Leviticus, with the end of his High School education and the end of Leviticus, what do we think about graduation?

From the start of Leviticus we learn that education is not about the blood of the sacrifices or for that matter any of the data. It is about relationships and making those connections. When I add that to starting the Mishnah with  Elu Metziyot we get a better picture and it starts to make real sense. Relationships and responsibility are the basic building blocks of  menschlichkeit. Education is not just about knowledge; it is about getting closer. When we learn we get closer to people and ideas from all over the world throughout history we gain wisdom. Reflecting on Yishama graduating, leaving home, and the end of the Leviticus we see at least two more things to learn from the end of the beginning of education. While education might start as a system of reward and punishment, that is not the ultimate goal. It is thrilling to seeing Yishama a curious soul who is intrinsically motivated to learn for its own sake. His hunger and passion for living are inspiring. And the second element we learn from this Torah portion is that even in exile from home, our love is unconditional. With this we have a recipe for the beginning and the end of education, or at the least the end of the beginning of education. With intrinsic motivation and unconditional love as foundations, learning never stops and knows no limits.

Mazel Tov- Yishama on graduating into the next phase of a life filled with a love of learning.