"Dor L'Dor - From Generation to Generation"

"Dor L'Dor - From Generation to Generation"
http://www.cmy.on.ca/newletters/february2004.htm CMY NEWSLETTER
Congregation Melech Yisrael, Toronto, Canada
Vol. 9 No. 6 February 2004 - Shevat - Adar 5764
By Messianic Jewish Rabbi Jack (Yaacov) Farber

My thanks to Dr. Richard Chamberlain of Petah Tikvah for this editorial...Rabbi Jack Farber

There is a bumper sticker which some of you might have seen: “LIFE IS HARD, AND THEN YOU DIE. HAVE A NICE DAY!”

With that note of “optimism,” I would like to begin this article. I happen to have a more optimistic view of life than that bumper sticker. There is a heaven and hell, call it what you like, and I am sure that most of us would like to avoid “Hell.” You might be of the opinion that “Life is hard,” but an eternity of separation from HaShem is certainly more miserable than life on earth. It is also discomfiting to know that some perfectly “nice” people will be missing out on any “heavenly” rewards, simply because they chose to do it their way, and not HaShem’s way. Yeshua the Messiah said, “I am the Way, and Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” (Yochanan 14:6). This sounds awfully narrow-minded, even bigoted to many in this world today in which we are to “tolerate” all differing belief systems except for “intolerance.” If you should care to criticize another’s religion, or if you should condemn homosexuality or other deviance, you are in turn condemned as “intolerant.”

Wait! It gets harder! Yeshua also said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which enter by it. For narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mattityahu / Matthew) 7:13-15). Yeshua concludes by saying, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” These false prophets lead many cults, of course but many are in the “Church” also. Some are leading their followers down spiritual dead-ends, while others consider their flocks as something to be fleeced.

Life is something like a relay race for the Believer. As you may know, a relay race is made up of teams. Members of your team are placed in different places along the path which is run by all runners. Each runner that starts out in the race has a baton. He runs to the place where the “next in line” runner is located, and hands the baton to him (or her). Then that runner picks up the baton and runs to the next teammate. This continues until the last runner reaches the finish line. Occasionally, someone actually drops the baton. If the baton can’t be found, that team can’t finish the race.

Life is something like a relay race. Our parents usually want the best for us, and they also try to impart some values along the way. We grow up, and try to impart similar values to our children. Unfortunately, in today’s “value-free” education system, many children are being taught there are no values, except for an abhorrence of “intolerance.”

It used to be that schools would promote positive spiritual values. The primary text books used in American schools in the 18th and 19th centuries were Webster’s Blue-Backed Spelling Book and the New England Primer, both of which quoted liberally from the Scriptures as they taught the “R's” Reading, Writing , and 'Rithmetic. Even after secular humanism began making encroachments into the schools, at least good, strong moral values were being taught. Today, it is increasingly difficult for parents to pass on their values to their children, in large part because the schools are not reinforcing the values that might be taught at home.

And who can doubt the part that the media-radio, television, movies, and music-are playing in the instruction of our children? According to some surveys, the average American father spends less than a minute a day in conversation with his children. Those same children may spend over 50 hours a week in front of the television, which has become increasingly corrupt. Which of the two - dear old Dad, or the television - will have a more profound influence over the child? As Believers, we want to pass on strong spiritual values to our children. In Judaism, the passing on of spiritual values is called Dor L’Dor, (Generation to Generation). It wasn’t uncommon for several generations of rabbis to be in the same family, as grandparent, parent, and son all became rabbis. Likewise, there were families of cantors. This came about because Jewish families cared about transmitting their values to their children. They did so in the home, and also enrolled their children in religious schools, including yeshiva, often at a great cost to the family.

We want to pass the baton onto our children. We don't want to be the “terminal” generation, the generation in which the values of the parents are not transmitted to the children. We don’t want to “drop the baton.” And children pay more attention to what parents do than what they say. If their parents aren’t consistent with the “doing,” all the talking in the world isn’t going to have munch effect on their children.

Unfortunately, we can even see in the Scriptures times in which the parents did not transmit their values to their children, oftentimes with horrible results. It goes back a long way. As I understand it, Adam and Eve had trouble relaying their values to Cain. And people have been raising Cain ever since. We read in the very first two chapters of Sh'muel (Samuel) about Eli, who was the high priest at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Prior to construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, this is where the Jews offered their sacrifices and the primary place of worship. Eli had two sons - Hophni and Phineas. Eli’s sons were particularly wicked. They would take from the offerings and sacrifices things which were to be offered to HaShem. They would refuse to have their portions boiled from the boiling pot and roast the meat instead. I can somewhat sympathize; barbecue tastes much better than boiled meat. But this was totally contrary to the instructions for the priests in the Temple. Also Hophni and Phineas would have sexual relations with the women that served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Since these men stood as HaShem’s messengers to the people, they were misrepresenting HaShem to the people. Both sons were killed in battle by the Philistines. When Eli heard of it, he fell backward in his chair, broke his neck and died. Young Sh'muel grew up in the Temple. His mother, Hannah had consecrated him to HaShem before he was even born. After he was weaned, he was brought to the Temple and raised by Eli. Apparently, Eli was able to impart better values to Sh'muel than to his own sons. Sh'muel became both a priest and a judge, properly representing HaShem to the people and judging them in righteousness. Sh'muel also had two sons, Joel and Abiyah. “And his sons walked not in (Sh'muel's) ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, and took bribes, and perverted justice.” (Sh'muel Alef /1 Samuel 8:3). It is kind of curious. Sh'muel saw the results of Eli’s permissive attitude with his sons, and yet Sh'muel repeated the same errors that Eli had done with his sons. It is understandable that the Israelites didn’t want Sh'muel’s sons to reign over them as judges. However their motivation was wrong: “Now make us king to judge us like all the nations.” It was and is HaShem’s desire for Israel to be separate. It is not HaShem’s desire for Israel to be a nation like all other nations, and to assimilate into Gentile milieu.

We have a duty to do a better job. “Train up a child in the way that he should go. Even when he is old he shall not depart from it.” (Mishlei / Proverbs 22:6). In today's world, it might be easier to just let the child sit in front of the TV or play video games - but your child needs you. If you don’t spend time with your child, inculcating proper values and the Word of HaShem, then you are throwing your child to the wolves. We need to pass the baton to the next generation.

It isn’t enough that you are a Believer. If you don’t impart your faith to your children they will be as lost as any other lost soul. You might have heard the expression: “Being born into a family of Believers doesn’t make you a believer anymore than being born in a garage makes you a car or being born in a donut shop makes you a policeman.” Likewise, if your parents are Believers and you are not, you are also one of those lost souls. We don’t believe that the “Easy-Believism” faith promulgated today is going to save anyone. Yaacov, Yeshua’s brother, said, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being alone.” (Yaacov / James 2:17). As far as I know, a dead faith can’t save anyone. I believe a “non-believing” Orthodox Jew who loves the Almighty and lives a Torah-observant lifestyle has a much better chance of making it into “Gan Eden” (Heaven) than someone who made a confession of faith, but continues to live like hell. We have seen Believers whose main concern for their grown children is that they have a good career or wealth. The children are not even Believers, but this seems of no concern to them. Our first job of evangelism is to our children, in fact our most important job. If they aren’t believers, then their “success” is worthless. However, it is best to reach them when they are young. Later on may be too late. It is curious indeed that many of us would do all we could to rescue a woman burning in a car, but seem to care not a whit about the eternal condition of her soul. But even before we reach the woman in the burning car, we need to reach our own children. We need to read Bible stories to them, pray with them, and let then see faith in action.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Jack (Yaacov) Farber
"Haleluya L'Adoneinu Moreinu V'Rabeinu Melech Yeshua HaMashiach L'Olam Vaed"
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