“You shall make two Keruvim of gold… they shall be with wings spread upward, sheltering the cover of the Aron with their wings … “(Shemos 25:18-20)
Rashi elaborates that the Keruvim had the face of a child, and their wings did not rest next to their bodies but spread out high next to their heads over the Aron. In an ensuing discussion in the Talmud (Succos 5b), it is derived that a kosher succah must be at least ten tefachim (handbreadths) high.
The great R’ Yissochor Dov of Belz asks: What is the significance of determining the proper height of the succah specifically from the Keruvim?
The Torah states (Devarim 11:19), “You shall teach them to your children, to speak with them” and Rashi expounds that from the moment that the child knows how to speak he should be taught “Moshe commanded us the Torah.” From here we learn, continues Rashi, that when the child begins to speak, his parent should speak with him in lashon kodesh and teach him the Torah. If he does not do this, chas v’shalom, he is depriving his child of life, as the pesukim continue in Devarim, “in order to increase your days and the days of your children…”
R’ Yissochor Dov highlights the strong obligation of a parent to teach his child Torah. Moreover, says he, despite the fact that such young children do not understand their learning yet, the Talmud (Shabbos 119b) tells us, “The world continues to exist only in the merit of the breath of schoolchildren who recite Torah.” R’ Papa asked: Is not our own learning significant? Abbaye responded that the breath that contains even the slightest trace of sin cannot be compared to the breath of a child that does not contain any sin whatsoever. Such is the greatness of the children.
In fact, the children’s breath is so powerful that it shields and protects us from the evil nations who wish to destroy us. We learn in the Medrash Yalkut Shimoni that the nations of the world approached Avnimus HaGardi, one of the two most evil people in the world [the other was Bilaam], for advice on attacking the Jewish people. He told them to inspect the batei midrashim and shuls. If they hear the chorus of children’s voices, they will not be successful, because their Father in Heaven promised them (Bereishis 27:22), “the voice is Yaakov’s voice.” Our sages explain that when the voice of Yaakov is heard in the batei midrashim the hands of Eisav will not be victorious.
The vital Torah learning is that which the children are taught. When the Torah speaks of the wings of the Keruvim spread over the Aron it alludes to the learning of the children that covers and protects us from the nations of the world. The succah, symbolizes the Clouds of Glory, which likewise protected the Jewish People in the Midbar.
May it be the will of Hashem that we merit the growth of our children in Torah, to ensure as the Prophet Yeshaya says (54:13), “All your children will be students of Hashem” with the proper chinuch and an unconditional awareness of Hashem.
A family in Europe who were in dire financial straits were nevertheless successful in imbuing their children with a strong love for Torah and mitzvos. Every erev Shabbos the father would buy a small cake in honor of Shabbos, to differentiate from the other days of the week, which was sparingly divided among the children. Although it was a small piece of cake, the children took great pleasure in the specialness of the day and its sweet treat.
One year as the family was gathered at the Seder table, their little five-year-old girl stood up and announced that she had a small gift she wanted to present to her brother, Avrumi, because he was a tzaddik who learned Torah in yeshiva.
Everyone quieted down and waited to see what gift she had prepared for her brother. They watched in horror as she excitedly pulled out the small piece of cake that she had received the last Shabbos before Pesach. “I kept this piece for Avrumi because he deserves it,” she explained.
She had hidden her bag well and, apparently, it had not been found before Pesach. Yet the cake was definitely chametz. How would most parents react? Would they quickly clear it away from the table and get rid of it? Would they loudly admonish the child and discipline her for such an egregious transgression?
The father, who was a learned man, thought to himself: Did she think she was doing something wrong? She had the purest, holiest and sweetest intentions that only someone who loves Torah could have. She wanted to express her appreciation and love for her brother who learned Torah, to the extent that she had deprived herself of the treat in order to recognize her brother’s worthiness. And so, instead of getting upset or harshly rebuking the little girl, the father praised her for her generosity and love for Torah. He then, of course, explained that the piece of cake was chametz and together they removed the cake and its crumbs from the table.
When this little girl grew up, she married a gadol b’Torah – someone who was a light to the entire world, and who clarified and elucidated the Torah for all of Jewry, none other than the Torah giant Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. R’ Zilbershtein commented that certainly one of the reasons she was worthy of marrying the gadol hador was because of her love of Torah that was revealed that Seder night many years earlier.
