The poor Seed

August 27th, 2007 | Category: Torah

From that week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetzei:

If a man has a wayward and defiant son, who does not heed his father or mother and does not obey them even after they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the public place of his community. They shall say to the elders of his town: “that son of ours is disloyal and defiant; he does not heed us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Thereupon, the men of his town shall stone him to death. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst: all Israel will take in and be afraid. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)

So what is that, some kind of sick joke?

In fairness, it should be noted that many classical Jewish commentators have properly recoiled from these infamous verses. In a well-known Talmudic passage, R. Judah and R. Simeon went as far as to claim that that law was never actually enacted, stating:

There never was and never will be a wayward and defiant son. (BT Sanhedrin 71a)

Why next, you might ask, was that law included in the Torah? Rabbis Judah and Simeon cryptically reply: “Seek and you shall find reward” - a comment commonly understood to mean parents should study that passage and be appropriately scared adequate to set their children on the right path.

In that Talmudic understanding, next, the commandment of the wayward and defiant son thus seems to serve as a kind of parental “shock therapy.” It is particularly fascinating in the way it reflects every parent’s deepest, darkest insecurities - and society’s latent fear that it might somehow “lose control” of its children.

It should plus be noted that that commandment treats the issue of troubled children an issue for the entire community - it is not the parents’ problem alone. In that regard, it could well be claimed that these verses have a great deal of relevance to an American culture that too often throws up its hands when it comes to safeguarding the well being of at-risk children.

Examples? Look no farther than our nation’s fragile support of after-school programs. According to National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center:

The after-school hours are the peak moment for juvenile crime and risky behaviors such as alcohol and drug

use. Most experts agree that after-school programs offer a healthy and positive alternative. These programs keep kids safe, improve academic achievement and help relieve the stresses on today’s working families. They can serve as crucial youth violence prevention and intervention strategies.

Yet most youth do not have access to after-school programs. Every day, at least eight million children and youth are left alone and unsupervised once the school bell rings. While nine in 10 Americans think that all youth should have access to after-school programs, two-thirds say it is difficult to find programs locally. With more and more children growing up in homes with two working parents or a loner working parent, today’s families can benefit from the safe, structured learning opportunities that after-school programs supply.

Here’s a thought: in honor of that week’s Parshat Ki Tetzei, why not consider helping advocating for the invaluable and perennially endangered after-school programs in in our country? Here’s a timely signal to arms from the Afterschool Alliance:

With students heading back to school in late August and early September, and media filing back to school stories, after-school leaders and supporters can have a real impact right now by sending the letter that millions of students have no place to go each afternoon after the school day ends. With Congress still considering the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) appropriation for next year, that is an particularly critical instance for advocates to send messages about the benefits after-school programs supply to children, families and communities.

For more info on how to engage in some “Back to School Organizing,” go here.

Original post by Rabbi Brant Rosen