15 Teves, 5739
[January 14, 1979]
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Greeting and Blessing!
. . . Education—in the general “worldly” outlook—is commonly regarded as a process of acquiring formal knowledge, in terms of basic and higher education, which is to be accomplished in the juvenile and adolescent stages of life. Thereafter one is considered “educated,” having completed one’s course of education.
Needless to say, this is not the Torah concept of Chinuch. The Torah is “our life and the length of our days.” Just as life itself is a continuous and uninterrupted process from the moment of birth to the last breath, so is Torah Chinuch a lifelong uninterrupted process. There can be a change of pace, intensity, and emphasis in the multifaceted aspects of Chinuch, depending upon age, activity, etc.; but there is never a time in a Jew’s life when he, or she, can be said to have completed their course of Chinuch.
In the same vein, Torah Chinuch is more than a process of accumulating knowledge. For, since the Torah is “our life,” it calls for a constant effort to strengthen and invigorate this life-giving process in the everyday life. Moreover, since the purpose of life is, as our Sages expressed it, “I was created to serve my Creator,” each and every moment of the Jew’s life must be consecrated to this purpose in constant striving to serve the Creator all the better from day to day. This includes, of course, the Great Principle of our Torah, V’Ohavto Lre’Acho Komoicho, which means that together with one’s personal advancement in Chinuch one must do everything possible to promote the same kind of Chinuch among other Jews. Besides, no Chinuch can be complete in isolation.