On the eve of the High Holidays I have to admit that I am filled with a child-like excitement. I know that during this time more Jews will reconnect to each other, their Judaism, and their inner selves than at any other time of the year. Regardless of where they are the rest of the year, they know that they are welcome back to the synagogue during the High Holidays. While one could bemoan their estrangement from the religious life as well as from the entire Jewish community the rest of the year, I choose to bask in the simple pleasure of their company. This time of year I am filled with memories of my family from my youth. I strive to live in the national myth of meeting up with my fellow pilgrims on our way up to Jerusalem to bring our festival sacrifices. Synagogue or not, the High Holidays are a time when every Jew feels a calling to come back to the Jewish community.

I like the idea of this sort of open invite. This idea of inclusion finds resonance in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Nitzavim. We read:

You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your God: your leaders, your tribes, your elders, your officers, every householder in Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer— to enter into a covenant with the Lord…Not with you alone do I forge this covenant and oath but with whoever is here, standing with us today, before the Lord, your God, And with whoever is not here with us today.” (Excerpts from Deuteronomy 29:9-14)

Every Jew was included in the renewal of this eternal covenant, regardless of his or her socio-economic situation, the variety of his or her religious/ritual commitment, or station in life. But, what can we learn from the Torah’s specifying the “your children”?

Partly this question comes from my being a father of four. For the better part of the last 21 years we have been thinking about coverage. Who is “on” with the kids? If everyone was there for this experience at Sinai, who would have been left to cover the kids if they did not bring them? I doubt that offered baby sitting. Of course the kids were there. In that case, why did it need to be mentioned at all?

But on a deeper level, what might we take from the positive notion that the children should be there at this critical moment? Traditionally Torah learning is an adult experience. Yes we need to teach children Torah, but that is just so they can join the life long enterprise of adult learning. This covenant is not just for children as they will eventually become adults, but it also needs to be meaningful for them now in this moment when they are young. This specific charge pushes us to consider pedagogies that are age appropriate for children of every age. A good example of this is how my kids always make fun of my vocabulary. I often use big words. I would be better served to use accessible language. Things should be simple, but never simplistic.

This traditional assumption that Jewish learning being an adult enterprise is interesting as it stands in stark contrast to what has become the norm in Jewish education today. Most of our resources go into making Judaism uniquely accessible to our children. In many ways we have forgotten the leaders, elders, officers, wives, strangers, and everyone else, from woodchoppers to water drawers. We have slipped into a rut of replicating a pediatric Judaism. We are not preparing people for mature conversations about Jewish life. If addition education seems putative. As if to say, “I had to go to Hebrew school and now you do”. We would be much more successful with our children if we have a more holistic and robust plan for life -long learning. Learning with our children should never be “you have to”, but ” you get to”.

I am super excited about the surge in interest in Jewish life, in the last two years. We leverage it to shift expectations about what continued Jewish learning looks like at every stage and in every interest. What an amazing invitation for the High Holidays. We should all be blessed with access points at any age, interest, and level. Have a sweet New Year.