At the annual Chinuch Conference held last week in Yerushalayim, leading roshei yeshiva and rabbanim from across Eretz Yisroel addressed a large gathering of parents and educators, offering guidance and practical tools to confront the pressing challenges of today’s generation.
The event, hosted at Sukkas Dovid Hall in Yerushalayim, drew a wide audience of mechanchim and mothers and fathers seeking hadrachah in raising children amid a complex and ever-evolving world. The atmosphere was one of deep inspiration and practical direction.
One of the evening’s early speakers, Rav Yehoshua Eichenstein, elaborated on the verse “Chanoch l’na’ar al pi darko” and emphasized that true chinuch is not about habit or routine but about bringing out the unique potential that lies within each child. He stressed the importance of building a child’s self-worth, saying every child must feel “bishvili nivra ha’olam”—that the world was created for me. “A child in a family of ten should not feel like one of ten,” Rav Eichenstein said, “but rather as an only child—just like each of the others.”
The conference featured the words of several of the generation’s gedolim. Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka Rav Dov Landau delivered opening remarks in a live broadcast, focusing on the unique responsibility parents bear in shaping the future of their children.
A highly anticipated segment was a Q&A session with Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, broadcast live from his home in Bnei Brak. Rav Hirsch addressed questions posed by mechanchim and parents with clarity and warmth, offering deeply rooted Torah perspectives on contemporary educational dilemmas.
The keynote address was delivered by Chevron Rosh Yeshiva Rav Dovid Cohen, who spoke passionately about the challenges of our generation and the critical role of the home in anchoring children spiritually and emotionally. “We have a promise from Hakadosh Baruch Hu: ‘Ki lo sishachach mipi zaro,’” Rav Cohen declared, emphasizing that Klal Yisroel’s eternal connection to Torah is assured. He urged parents to instill in their children a sense of pride in being a ben yeshiva and to model mesirus nefesh for Torah. “It is with the koach of Torah that we will merit the yeshuas Yisroel, speedily in our days,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Rabbi, you are 100% right! I remember when my boys were in high school. Chanoch Lenaar… was a non entity. You either kept up with the program or you were lost. Why do all the right wing yeshivas concentrate on NOTHING but gemarah? No halacha, no chumash (kids have to do it on their own), no navi. They can learn gemara their whole lives, but shouldnt they know hilchos shabbos before they get married? Regardless, I appreciate this Rabbi speaking out.