Unless one is an avid skier, we find that people are very unhappy when those white flakes begin to descend upon us. Complaints are vociferous. Driving becomes more chaotic, walking becomes treacherous, and another reason for us to complain about the hardships of life becomes evident. Arriving here from the “North Country,” we are accustomed to snow and still find the lack of it here amazing. When it finally arrives, as it did this past Shabbat, we were excited to see it falling from the sky. We are not sure how many people have taken the time to watch it falling in its majestic dance. Especially because it fell on Shabbat it was so much easier to enjoy. The squeals of gleeful children who can go outside and romp on the freshly fallen carpet of white should bring smiles to our faces. Instead, there are those who are annoyed at the inconvenience of having to dress them warmly and more intensely. How many of us take the time to explain to our children that this is a special gift from Hashem to remind us that He is in control of our lives?
Teaching our children the beauty of nature is a role that should come automatically within families. Unfortunately, we frequently overlook the necessity of sharing our feelings of awe. Instead we pass on nebulous feelings of delight. How many of us are excited when a plant in our home begins to flower? Do our children notice the magnificence of an orchid plant that flowers usually after some time, requiring a good deal of patience? In most young families, we have seen a total lack of interest in plants. Artificial flowers and plants often take the place of the real thing. They do not need to be watered, and like everything that needs to be instantaneous in lives today, the flowers stay forever. It is not necessary to nourish them.
The beauty of the trees and the leaves of so many magnificent colors in the fall become a burden due to the fact that they need to be raked. Instead of the brilliance, the discussion turns to the burden. Has anyone noticed the palette of colors as they change from vibrant to less vibrant to shriveled? What mechanism makes that happen? Another act of Hashem.
We remember being in Rochester and waiting for our son-in-law to arrive home from shul on Shabbat. We actually were davening in the same minyan. The only difference was that we walked straight home and he stopped many times on his way home to show his children plants, trees, flowers and the occasional worm. For Baruch, each stop was an additional way for him to connect his children to Hashem. The lilac festival in Rochester was not a boring event for his children. They went and observed the different colors of the lilacs, the outstanding aromas, the magnificence of the sun shining down on the leaves, the many bees flying and believe it or not, they had fun. Today, for most families, taking advantage of the orchid display at the botanical gardens would be an activity for the bubbies and zaidies. Most would not find that an interesting activity for their children. Why is that?
We send our children to wonderful schools where they are learning all about the fascination of the Torah and our history. Nisim are everywhere in what they learn, yet as they walk down the streets of our community, and in their homes as well, they are oblivious to the everyday occurrences that we witness, and rarely do they correlate that these are the works of Hashem. Perhaps it is time to reeducate in a way that simple things will become more important and appealing than the man-made electronic and plastic items that seem to play such a large role in their lives. The beauty of Hashem’s creations are not just to be read about in books or sefarim, they are passionately facing each and every one each day and we need to allow ourselves to see them and to share them with our children.
By Rabbi Mordechai and Nina Glick
