Life is the greatest treasure we possess.
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." —Sir Winston Churchill
The teacher entered the classroom with a little black velvet bag. He showed the bag to his students and slowly retrieved a magnificent beautiful diamond.
The teacher said to his students, “Whoever would like to have this precious stone, please raise your hand."
All hands went up.
The teacher then asked one of his students to fetch a cup of water and fill it with dirt. After dipping the diamond into the dirty water, he again asked, "Whoever would like to have this precious stone, please raise your hand."
None of the students seemed to care that the diamond was filthy. In fact, even placing it in a pile of dung with a horrible smell did not deter any of them. Each student recognized that this is a very precious gem, and desired to possess this beautiful treasure.
He then asked his students to close their eyes and take in a long, deep breath of fresh air.
"Can you feel that?" asked the teacher. "Like the diamond, life itself, is the greatest treasure we possess!"
Sure, there are times that, like the diamond, the precious gift of life is surrounded with muck. Even so, at our center, at all times, there is the most precious gift that we have, the gift given to us by G-d—the gift of life.
This week's tragic story about must send shock waves through our midst. Although we do not know the full circumstances of why he killed himself, it was reported he was upset about bad grades.
It is a very sad that our greatest national treasure—our youth—are not being properly educated morally and ethically. When a young person measures their status and self-worth by their grades, it is definitely time that we seriously revaluate how our children are being taught to perceive and measure their "true value."
Many good-hearted, compassionate parents and educators are unaware of the social pressures placed on our youth. Living up to an image of "perfection" dictates to them whether they should be feeling good about themselves. Kids who have a strong and good sense of their self-worth have a much better chance at living a healthy, meaningful and vibrant life.
So what steps can we take to equip our children with a strong healthy sense of self?
"A sound and healthy body is dependent on a sound and healthy soul" —The Rebbe
I was taught that a child's character education must take priority over academic education. All educational efforts are basically meaningless unless built on the solid foundation of good character. In Yiddish, we call it being a "mentch!" And the good news is, everyone can achieve "mentchood!"
I join all the heartfelt prayers for the Feinberg family. I could not imagine the deep pain that they are experiencing; my heart goes out to them. I pray that G-d gives them the strength to go forward and to find true peace and light in their lives.