פרשת בהר-בחקתי
אם בחקתי תלכו... | ויקרא, כ"ו, ג
If you will follow my statutes...
Why is the term הליכה used in reference to the keeping of Torah and mitzos?
Reb Nochum Zev, the son of the Alter from Kelm, explains with the following parable: If a cripple sits within a group of healthy people, it is difficult for an outsider to discern any differences between them. It is only after the others disperse, leaving the cripple behind, that his true status will be discovered.
Similarly, within a spiritually protected environment, the level of one’s true commitment to Torah and mizvos can be difficult to measure. Only when one has been forced to leave such an environment and face life’s challenges on his own, will his true capabilities become evident.
The Torah’s promise of blessing for the guarding of Torah and mizvos is with this proviso: One must do so even when he is ‘going’ and no longer has the support of his community and environment.
As mechanchim we infuse a potent measure of influence into our charges. We fill them with enormous doses of Torah and yiras shamayim. It is our fervent tefillah that the influences are viable not only during the months and years that they are in our classrooms, but also for the years following their time with us. It is a chinuch to last a lifetime!
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.