By: Upper School Judaic Studies Teacher, Rabbi Asher Block
An Everlasting Connection
"These are the generations of Aharon and Moshe on the day that Hashem spoke with Moshe at Har Sinai" (Devarim 3:1).
Rashi explains that the sons of Aharon are referred to as the generations of Moshe to convey that since Moshe taught Torah to Aharon's sons, it is as if he gave birth to them. Rashi is telling us more than a mere historical fact, but also revealing the dynamics of a teacher-student relationship. What is the significance of a teacher of Torah "giving birth" to one who learns Torah from them? Furthermore, Rashi in Parshat VaEtchanan (6:7), on the verse "And you shall teach your children," cites a teaching of our Sages that one's students are considered children. Why, then, are two teachings of our Sages needed to convey what seems to be the same message?
The Gemara in Masechet Kiddushin (36a) cites the opinion of R' Yehuda, who interprets the verse in Devarim, "You are sons to Hashem," as conditional. The status of being a son only applies when Bnei Yisrael do the will of Hashem. However, when they stray from the Torah, they lose their status as "sons" to Hashem.
A rabbi of mine once explained, therefore, that if we were to rely solely on the idea of a student being called a "child," we might think this special bond could be severed, G-d forbid, if the student strays from the teachings of their educator, just as the Gemara in Kiddushin suggests. Rashi in our parsha, who says that a teacher "gives birth" to a student, is stating that despite a student deviating from the Torah teacher’s ways, they always remain a student—just as a biological child remains a child regardless of outside factors and circumstances. Despite Nadav and Avihu departing from the ways of their teacher Moshe, as recounted in our parsha, they are still referred to not only as students but as children of Moshe. This is the power of a teacher-student bond.
In today's complex world of raising children, let us come into Shavuot thanking Hashem for the opportunity to not only build a familial relationship with our children, but also for the privilege of transmitting Torah and its timeless values to them. This enables us to build the most profound relationship possible with the next generation of our People.