By Rabbi Abraham Unger, Ph.D.
Executive Director
This Week’s Torah Portion
Family First
Remember the stories your grandparents told you. Remember the unique narratives that belong to your children and grandchildren, and only to them. Those are your origin tales – the ways your values came to be shaped and the sources of their evolution.
Our Torah knows this. It emphatically reminds us that family comes first in terms of loyalty, heritage, and foundation for the future. In this week’s Shabbat reading, each familial unit stemming from the 12 sons of Jacob are instructed to have their own banner. Rashi explains that this means each child should recognize “the sign of their father.”
Each family unit has a crest, so to speak. The symbols on a crest typically represent the respective family’s history and core values. What would be on your family’s crest? How would you distill for posterity your ancestors’ stories, and how do you want to transmit them to be lived and felt unto the generations?
Being a parent or grandparent signifies we are children of another generation. We bring to bear our experiences, woven into the tapestry of those who came before. Family first, and forever.
Weekly Parenting Message from the Parsha
A Life of Service
We all want our children to have a sense of communal responsibility. It is not just about kindness; it is about feeling connected to the rest of society, and feeling one has a role in its upkeep. Without that civic sensibility, the world is weakened.
In this Shabbat’s Torah reading, we focus on the Levites. These were the descendants of Moses’ older brother Aaron, who served as High Priest officiating in the Mishkan—the traveling tabernacle in the desert that served as the model for every subsequent Jewish house of worship.
What was the nature of Levitical service? The formative Torah commentator Rashi explains that it was to guard the “Mikdash,” the sanctuary. Service means protection. It means keeping something sacred and supporting its continuity.
When we take our children to a day of community service, or talk to them about the contributions they can make through their own talents, we are not just trying to instill in them generosity of spirit. We are letting our daughters and sons know that a good and decent society requires our effort. It is something precious to watch over, so that we leave it as whole as we can when we exit this world. All of us, in a way, can take a cue from the Levites. Each of us has a part to play in repairing the world.