March 11, 2021 / 27 Adar, 5781 • Parshat Vayakheil - Pekudei
Issue 657
Dedicated in loving memory of Mrs. Miriam Friedman

How to Educate Successfully

The people brought their gold earrings, nose-rings, finger-rings, and bracelets. 

Ibn Ezra, Exodus 35:22


The four items that the women donated allude to the four aspects of proper child-rearing and Jewish education:

Earrings: Listening carefully to children’s conversations with their peers, for children learn how to talk from their elders’ example; if something is amiss in how they speak, it means something is amiss in how their role models speak.

Nose-rings: Developing a keen sense of “smell” to determine if children’s friendships with other children are beneficial.

Finger-rings: Pointing children to the proper path, by gently guiding them to adhere to the Torah’s teachings and not to follow harmful paths.

Bracelets: Being strong-armed—for even if children are well-behaved, it is necessary to be firm with them in order to foster their enthusiasm for their studies.

—from Daily Wisdom #1