One of the
halachos
specific to the Nine Days is to be careful not to hit one’s child. The meaning of this mandate is to proceed with extra care and caution while disciplining and being
mechanech
children.
In
Parshas Matos
, which invariably coincides with the three weeks, the
Shevatim
of Gad and Reuven approached Moshe Rabeinu requesting to receive their land portion in the eastern side of the Jordan river. They worded their request as follows. “We will construct corals for our livestock, and then we will build houses for our children”. Moshe chastised them for giving priority to their animals before providing for their own children. Let us attempt to understand the mindset of these lofty people. These two
shevatim
were of the generation labeled, “The
dor deah”
- the generation of tremendous greatness! The lowliest individual would never consider leaving their children exposed to the elements while providing loving care for their animals. What were these great people really thinking?
Rav Yosef Salant, in his classic
sefer
Be’er Yosef, points out that Hashem made a tremendous
nes
when the
Yidden
were challenged in battle by the mighty king, Sichon. The
possuk
tells us that Sichon and his armies came to their border to confront the
Yidden
in combat.
Chazal
tell us this was a tremendous
chesed
of
Hashem
, that instead of having to go from city to city to fight and wreak havoc and destruction in every city, the entire army was amassed in one place and defeated together at the border. Thus, the cities were spared destruction and the
Yidden
were enabled to overtake the cities with all the houses intact. They were able to move their families in to the recently vacated houses. Constructing additional corals for their overabundance of cattle was all that was left to do. This is why they prioritized their animals when presenting their request to Moshe Rabeinu. This seems quite logical. Why, indeed, were they faulted?
The answer is that when establishing living quarters for children, the least important element is the four walls in which to house them. Of overriding importance is establishing a pristine
ruchnius
environment, free of any negative influence. The secular culture that preexisted had to be cancelled. All vestiges of their idol worship had to be eradicated. The home itself needed to be retrofitted for a Jewish lifestyle, conducive to raising proper
Yiddishe
neshamos
. The power of negative influences was severely overlooked and underrated by these two holy
Shevatim
, and that is why Moshe took them to task.
We may not take for granted that children will flourish automatically. They need protection and adequate preparation to face the
nisyonos
that they may encounter. The home is where they imbibe the proper values and perspectives to be enabled to squelch the constant onslaught of the
yetzer hara
and his accomplices.
These days are earmarked to proceed with caution while educating children. This includes maintenance of a
Yiddishe
home without succumbing to the Western culture and its hedonistic pursuits. Precedence must be afforded to the education of our children before dealing with our livestock, aka
gashmius
pursuits and interests.
