"Your fullness offering and your heave offering you shall not delay; the first of your sons you shall give Me. Shemos (22:28)"
Education is a Priority
In the early 1950s, the Satmar Rav, R' Yoel Teitelbaum, zt"l, directed all his efforts towards rebuilding the Jewish community in New York in the post-Holocaust world. Resources, however, were still scarce. There was a meeting of Jewish leaders to discuss how to prioritize these resources to ensure Jewish continuity in America.
There was a disagreement among those gathered, with some wanting to focus on building shuls and community centers, and others wanting to focus on building schools.
The Satmar Rav, zt"l, opened his remarks by saying: "Many years ago, before the war, Jews from around the world came to this country. They were God fearing and meticulous in their observance of Torah and mitzvos. They were learned students, some of them even wise sages fluent in the entire Torah. Look and see what has become of their children! How many of them have abandoned their traditions, the Toran and mitzvos? All but a few have completely assimilated. We should tremble with fear when we think about what has become of these Jews, and that fear should motivate us to do everything within our power to ensure that this does not happen to our children.
"I decided to investigate and see why this happened, why have so many Jews from good, god-fearing families assimilated? I discovered, that when these Jews came here, they raised a tremendous fortune to build elaborate shuls and cemeteries. But they neglected to establish proper schools for their children, which is the only way to secure a Torah-centric life for the next generation. We must rectify that mistake now, and focus on building schools for our children, for the boys and girls. This is the only way we can ensure that our traditions will continue in this country."
These saintly and insightful words of the Satmar Rav, zt"l, can clearly be seen in the reality of American Jewry.
I once saw a directory of all the synagogues on the East Side of Manhattan. In 1924 there were 526 congregations! However, over the years, those synagogues have become empty as the next generation, the children of their members, assimilated and abandoned their traditions.
It was only after the war, when America became filled with true Jewish leaders who prioritized building and establishing institutions for Jewish education, did this trend change. The impact of providing a Jewish education is clearly seen by the thousands upon thousands of yidden in America who fill their shuls to daven and learn Torah day after day.
Hashem Loves Us Through Prioritizing Education
Avraham Avinu lived a life completely dedicated to Hashem's Will. He would welcome everyone he came across, providing them with food, drinks, and acts of kindness. He withstood 10 tests that challenged his faith to the point where Hashem even asked him to sacrifice his only son at the Akeidah. And he succeeded each time.
However, it was only after Avraham Avinu worried about the education of the generations to come, and provided a proper education for his children, did earn that Hashem express his love for him, as it says (Breishis 18:19): "For I have loved him because he commands his sons and his household after him, that they should keep the way of the Lord to perform righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord bring upon Abraham that which He spoke concerning him."
The Heavenly Court
There was once a Hungarian Jew who managed one of the largest banks in his region. He was extremely successful and wealthy. And he was philanthropic, focusing his charity on supporting many of the religious institutions in Hungary.
This banker had a son who he decided to enroll in a non-Jewish school. The banker's rabbi tried to persuade him to send his son to a yeshiva where he could grow in his avodas Hashem and not to a place where the environment would challenge his son spiritually and potentially lead to his spiritual downfall.
The banker refused to listen, responding that this education will enable his son to become wealthy like him and carry on his charitable commitments long after he was gone.
One day, a short time had passed after his son enrolled in the non-Jewish school, the father suddenly showed up and pulled his son out of the school and enrolled him in a yeshiva. When he was asked why he had such a sudden change of heart, the banker explained that the heavens sent him a dream.
In this dream, he saw his soul standing before the Heavenly Court awaiting judgment after it had left the world. As he was standing before the Heavenly Court, hundreds of Angels came, each carrying white sacks on their backs filled with all the mitzvos he had done throughout his lifetime. Then came a large contingency of Angels carrying even larger white sacks, each filled with the acts of charity and kindness he had done through his philanthropy. All these sacks were placed on the scale of judgment and tilted those scale in his favor. Olam Habah clearly awaited him.
But, then a group of angels carrying black sacks came before the Heavenly Court. These sacks were filled with the sins of his son that resulted from him being sent to a non-Jewish school. When these sacks were placed on the scale, the judgment dramatically titled the other direction and the Heavenly Court decided that his judgment would not be favorable.
The banker woke up startled, and decided that he would rectify this mistake immediately, and send his son to a Jewish school where he would grow in his Torah and mitzvos and commitment to Hashem.
Many people make this mistake. They are philanthropic and charitable supporting all kinds of charities. They had good intentions. However, when you ask them to support a school or yeshiva where our children learn, when you ask them for tuition or to help hire a tutor for children who need a little extra help, they shy away and give less.
However, the exact opposite must be done. Supporting authentic Jewish education must be a priority. We don't need stories of tzadikim or dreams of Heavenly Courts to teach us this. We can simply look at the Halacha, Jewish Law, which requires that supporting Jewish education for our children be prioritized over other charities (Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah 251:3).
Education Comes First
This is what this Pasuk is teaching us: "Your heave offering you shall not delay" - you will be able to be charitable in many ways. However, as the Pasuk continues, "the first" - the first thing you must do with your money is, "your sons you shall give Me" - to ensure that the Jewish children receive an authentic Torah education to bring them close to Hashem.
With Hashem's help, everyone should be blessed with the ability to be charitable and have the insight and fortitude to prioritize supporting Jewish schools. Through these efforts, our community will continue to grow in its spiritual strength. May the learning and mitzvos of these children serve as a merit to all those who support these institutions for generations to come. Amen.
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