Treats

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER

Rabbi Akiva would distribute roasted grains and nuts to children on Passover eve, so that they would not fall sleep too early, and so they would ask good questions and remain actively engaged in the Seder (Pesachim 109a). Children under Rabbi Akiva’s tutelage thus came to associate the sweetness of the Talmudic equivalent of candy with the learning at the heart of the Passover Seder!

Similarly, “Areinfirinish”(or, in Hebrew, “Hachnasah La-Cheder” – the first introduction of young children to “Cheder” or Hebrew School or Yeshiva/Day School – traditionally featured a number of sweet treats: honey smeared on Hebrew letters (to be licked clean by the student!), honey cakes on which Biblical verses were written, and the throwing of sweets (and coins!) onto the child’s textbook – a “gift” from the Angel Michael!

Scripture, too, makes the connection between sweetness and sacred learning. The Song of Songs’ “honey and milk under your tongue” (4:11) is understood by the Sages to be a reference to Torah study.  The Psalmist declares: “Sweet to my palate is Your word, more than honey” (119:103)!

It is the joyful, sacred obligation of parents, teachers, and community members to transmit the value – and, in particular, the sweetness – of Jewish learning to our children… and to theirs!

Clever pedagogical tricks (and treats) have long been welcome!

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the editor of “Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.” The latest edition of Masorti was published online in December of 2024. A subscription is $18 per annum.