Greater Than Yesterday

In Parshas Vayak’hel, the Torah briefly mentions the “Cherubim” which were located in the holiest place in the temple. The Cherubim were two angelic statues that had the faces of children. Our sages say that when the Roman general Titus came and destroyed the second temple, he and his soldiers were very confused when they saw the Cherubim. This is what the Jews have in their holiest place? The statues should have the faces of fierce lions, or wise old men! But children?

What value can children possibly have? I remember when my Rabbi gave me the answer to this question, but I didn’t fully understand until I had children of my own. Have you ever heard a child say “Dad, look how big I am!” or “Mommy, I want to do it myself!”. Anyone who’s spent time with children knows that something all children have in common is that they always want to improve. They have a need to be greater than they were yesterday. That is the aspect of children that we as Jews value so much. The desire to always improve.

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Somewhere in adulthood, we often find that we’ve reached a state of complacency. We’re simply trying to get through the day to day and we’re very comfortable with where we are in life. We need to bring back that hunger for improvement that children have. At the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, we restarted a program called Chai High. The goal of the program is simple: We aim to give your teen a desire to strengthen their Jewish Identity and deepen their connection to Israel. We meet every Sunday evening at 5 pm and we would love to have your highschooler join us! Contact me for more information! [email protected]

Rabbi David Cohen
Chai High and JSU Facilitator