Years ago I heard a story about a little boy who went to a synagogue to pray but he did not know how to read the words of the siddur. Yet he was filled with a sense that he wanted to communicate with G-d so he sat in the back of the shul and sang at the top of his voice the words that he did know: Aleph, Bet, Vet, Gimmel, Dalet, Hey....The adults stared and asked what he was doing. They told him he should be praying, but he informed them that that was exactly what he was doing.
Sometimes I'm amazed at how connected children are to a sense of the Divine. They look at the world around them and delight in its intricacy and beauty. They do not know about organized religion, but they do have a sense of the ineffable. Now that I'm a grandmother, I have a chance to really listen to the words of the little ones in my life. Here's some of the things I've heard:
1. Savta, you didn't let me talk when we were at the synagogue last night. Would you like to know what I wanted to say when you were talking about how G-d gives life to the dead? I was going to say that G-d gives life to the dead because there's a string that connects our heart to the dead person's heart, so they always live on in our hearts. We're always connected.
2. Savta, don't you think the name Ha-Shem is a nicer name for G-d than G-d ? Today at camp I got to tell Ha-Shem what I'm thankful for. I told Ha-Shem that I'm thankful for having a family that loves me. Now it's your turn...what would you thank Ha-Shem for?
3. Savta, you know Pharoah? I don't get it. When G-d did the plagues, why did He kill Pharoah's son? If we're all like children to G-d, then wasn't Pharoah's son one of G-d's children too? Why did G-d do that?
4. Savta, I'm going to wear my crown and jewelry to synagogue today. It's Shabbat and I'm going to dress like the Sabbath princess bride. That's okay isn't it?
5. Savta, I just showed great-grandpa the tree I planted for him. He said he liked it. You know, I think he's getting ready to join great-grandma.
The comments have been short, often thrown into conversations that are wrapped around other topics, but they have really dealt with some ideas that we adults have been trying to wrap our heads around....eternal life, gratitude, suffering, and the special nature of Shabbat.
If an adult didn't pay attention to the conversations, it would be possible to miss the child's need to make sense of the world. I find that Judaism offers us an opportunity to try to make life make sense...to give meaning to the events we encounter.
When I was growing up, I don't remember having conversations about G-d, nor do I remember having those conversations with my own children until they were much older. Maybe that's because there was a larger division between the places children and adults went. I don't think I ever attended a shivah minyan until I was 21 years old. I certainly never even walked into a cemetery until I was 20! Yet it has seemed natural to have my granddaughter with me as we comfort mourners and talk about memories. It has seemed natural to watch a video about Pesach and then deal with some of the hard questions that even adults have when they hear about the plagues. I find it reassuring to know that little ones are not devoid of religious feelings...that they do look at events in their world and connect them to something larger than themselves.
As I watch the little ones who come up on our bimah every Shabbat morning, it gives me an incredible sense of joy to know that they like being in the synagogue and sharing their morning with other Jewish children and families. I imagine that when we adults are not around, they probably talk about some of the very things with which we occupy ourselves when we open the siddur and pray. To watch them giggle or dance on the bimah, should not be viewed as a "disgrace"...merely as a young child's way of expressing their connectedness to what it is that brings us together on Shabbat...a desire for community and meaning...and a chance to express our delight!
Shabbat Shalom.
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