Taanit 24a quietly presents the recipe for educational success. The Gemara tells of an area suffering from famine. In desperation, the community enlisted Rav, the gadol hador, to rescue them. Rav proclaimed fast days to beg Hashem for rain, but to no avail. Whereupon, a simple teacher of very young children stepped up as shaliach tzibbur. He said, “Mashiv HaRuach,” and the pre-rain winds blew and then said, “Morid HaGeshem,” and it began raining! Everyone wondered why this simple teacher enjoyed immediate success. The Gemara explains that it was due to the teacher’s policies.
The first was that he treated the children of the poor the same as wealthy parents’ offspring. He admitted students even if their parents could not afford to pay him. He extended this generosity despite his educational prowess, as evidenced by wealthy parents sending their children to him.
How could he verify a claim of inability to pay? One strategy could be not to give in at the first request. My venerated grandfather and namesake, Chaim Adler, did not charge customers who claimed they were impoverished in the grocery he ran during the Great Depression. However, as my beloved Aunt Jean told me, he did not make enough money to support himself adequately.
I asked my mother’s cousin, the legendary Rav Yosef Singer, how to strike the proper balance of generosity and financial solvency. He told me the trick is not to give in at the first “krechtz” (Yiddish for moan). He advised me to push back a bit at the first request; if the customer asks again, it is likely a legitimate request. I have found over the years that this strategy works. This teacher might have balanced solvency and generosity in this way.
The teacher’s second strategy was to coax non-compliant students with delicious fish. He rewarded them with food if they improved their behavior and performance. Instead of berating or striking his young pupils, he sweetly enticed them to succeed. The anonymous teacher (perhaps the anonymity teaches that anyone can follow his model) followed the yetzer hara’s strategy. Rav Chaim of Volozhin (in his Nefesh HaChaim) famously distinguishes between an internal and external yetzer hara. One lacking an inner drive to sin requires external pressure to steer him to aveirot, as the nachash (snake) did to Chava (similar to a modern-day drug dealer). Once the external yetzer hara succeeds, he becomes obsolete, since the victim has internalized the drive to sin. For example, after the snake convinced Chava to sin, she—in turn—convinced Adam to err without the snake nudging her to do so.
The teacher used the same strategy but in a positive way. His “bribes” served as an external yetzer hatov for those lacking an inner drive to learn. Once the youngsters tasted success’ sweet taste, they no longer needed “bribes” since they internalized the yetzer hatov.
The teacher’s actions were especially meritorious since he taught them how to read. Learning specialists know the critical importance of successfully laying students’ basic foundation—reading—for all future learning. Our heroic teacher’s efforts set up his beginner students to succeed for the rest of their lives (as I am indebted to my first grade teachers of Brooklyn’s Yeshiva Rambam circa 1969, Morah Tzippora and Mrs. Bornstein). For this reason, his merits were immense, even surpassing Rav!
Conclusion
Hashem severely punishes those who entice others to abandon Him (Devarim 13’s “meisit”). However, as harshly as He punishes the “meisit,” so great is the reward in store for those who prod Hashem’s children to follow the Torah path. The great reward bestowed on the quiet and unassuming teacher provides a glimpse into the profound reward in store for those who follow his path.
Rabbi Jachter serves as the rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a get administrator with the Beth Din of Elizabeth. Rabbi Jachter’s 18 books may be purchased at Amazon and Judaica House.
