I've
been thinking about being
a parent. If you're passionate about your world-changing
mission, can you transmit that passion to your children so that they'll
be proud of you through and through and want to be a participant in
your revolution?
When I moved to
Israel in Autumn 1996, my first stop was at Yeshivat Darche Noam (The
David Shapell College of Jewish Studies) in Jerusalem. I had just
completed a law degree in London and I wanted to spend at least a year
immersed in Torah studies before really deciding whether to stay in
Israel or move elsewhere.
As
it turned out I ended up staying there 4 years. That's about how
long it took me to learn enough Rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic to begin to
mine the vast treasury of Jewish Law and philosophy contained in the
Gemara.
But
that's really beside the point - the point is this: last
week the school celebrated it's 30th anniversary with a gala dinner in
Jerusalem for alumni and faculty members.
The
highlight of the evening
was a talk by Yossi, son of Rabbi Y. Karlinsky, one of the founders and
the dean of the institution.
Many
were inspired by the testimony from
behind the scenes that what we as students had seen was just the tip of
the iceberg, so to speak, of the rabbis' dedication to the cause and
the students.
But
what struck me (right in the chest) was the unbelievable pride and
joy that this young man had when speaking of his father and how their
home had become an extention of the school or the other way round.
Here
was a person whose father dedicated his life to his mission, whose
childhood is remembered against the backdrop of this preoccupation, and
not only does he accept that, he also offers the prayer that he be able
to transmit the same dedication and heart to his own children.
So
it
left me wondering, and I'll leave you to think about it: Being a
parent, how do I achieve that amazing feat? How do we parents manage to
take our kids along for the ride and get them to enjoy it?
I
know from
my own experience of starting a school that it's all too easy to let
the kids take the back seat and I'm asking myself mostly, how I can
transform the story into one which my kids are starring in, because
that seems to be the key.
Yossi
Karlinsky talked of his childhood with
pride because he felt that he himself was a part
of the mission.
So
there's the question: your life is a
story and you are the narrator - how are you telling it so that your
kids are the stars? Please share your thoughts in the
comments below.
I'll
leave you with this amazing talk from Benjamin Zander. Strictly
speaking it's about music and passion, but in reality it's about being
a wonderful parent and a powerful leader by telling a story that moves
the listener. It's about 20 minutes long and you should definitely make
time to watch it. As parents we have to ask ourselves what
are we being if our childrens eyes aren't shining? What
do you say?
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