Ima asks Yossi to go to the shop and buy some milk and bread. Instead, Yossi returns\u00a0 home with a puppy dog, a harmonica and a flower. What happened to Yossi on the way to the store?\u00a0 And how will Ima react when Yossi brings her these gifts?<\/p>\n
This classic Israeli children\u2019s rhyme by O. Hillel provides a wonderful opportunity for families to discuss the value of adapting childrearing to the unique talents and disposition of children, as expressed in the saying (Proverbs 24:6): \u201cEducate the youth according to his ways\u201d. The story also demonstrates the importance of having faith in each and every person\u2019s good intentions, as illustrated by the saying (Avot 1:6): \u201cJudge every person to the side of merit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducate the youth according to his ways\u201d(Chanoch lana\u2019ar al-pi darko)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Yossi is a special child. He functions in unexpected ways, and his mother accompanies\u00a0 him. Sometimes she is surprised by his actions, but she always succeeds in finding the\u00a0 good and the special in him.<\/p>\n Like Yossi, every child has his own special \u201cway\u201d. Every person creates a unique path and we accompany him as he goes along it: \u201cEducate the youth according to his ways, and when he is old he will not depart from them.\u201d (Proverbs, ch. 22, verse 6). Throughout the years we, the parents, see the special traits of our children. It\u2019s interesting to ponder what kind of person Yossi will turn out to be when he is grown up\u2026with his imagination, his<\/p>\n sensitivity and his kindheartedness. And your children \u2013 what will they be when\u00a0 they mature?<\/p>\n \u201cJudge every person to the side of merit\u201d (\u201cVehaveh dan et kul he\u2019adam l\u2019kaf z\u2019chut\u201d) Mommy\u00a0 waits for Yossi. At\u00a0 first\u00a0 she is impatient: \u201cWhere is Yossi? There\u2019s no milk.\u201d Afterwards she begins to worry about him: \u201cWhat happened to Yossi? There\u2019s no bread.\u201d And finally she \u00a0gets angry: \u201cFor heavens sakes, Yossi.\u00a0\u00a0 There isn\u2019t even\u00a0 \u00a0an olive.\u201d But when\u00a0 he\u00a0 returns she sees his\u00a0 enthusiasm and feels that his\u00a0 intentions\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0were good. For everyone it is sometimes difficult to think positively about another person, but it isn\u2019t good to worry or to be angry. Joshua ben Peracheya, who was the head of the Sanhedrin during\u00a0 the period of the Mishna, said: \u201cAnd judge every man towards merit\u201d (Pirkei Avot, ch. 1, verse 6).\u00a0 (\u201cVehaveh dan et kul he\u2019adam \u00a0l\u2019kaf z\u2019chut\u201d) The Hebrew expression \u201ckaf z\u2019chut\u201d refers to scales used for weighing, which are a symbol for judgment. He suggests to us that we \u201cweigh\u201d others positively, on the side of good, and that we see at the outset the good side of every person.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"featured_media":63453,"menu_order":2,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1013,1009],"agegroup":[767],"book-subject":[1383,1145,1357,1361],"distribution_year":[1047],"class_list":{"0":"post-71190","1":"book","2":"type-book","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category---en","8":"category-poetry-en","9":"agegroup-preschool-3-5","10":"book-subject---en","11":"book-subject--en","14":"distribution_year-2011-2012"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n