Monkeyboy in DC has a pal who, at age 10, is an amatuer videographer and wannabe film director. He posts short videos on YouTube under the handle "thekidmakesmovies".
Anywho, Monkeyboy was browsing through YouTube and found video shot by an Israeli Defense Forces fighter pilot shooting down Syrian MIGs. He showed it to me expecting unmitigated excitement.
I settled in to explain that the Israeli Air Force was indeed the best in the region, and that this was a good thing, since Israel was surrounded by neighbors committed to her destruction.
But I also explained that he wasn't watching a video game and that for every Syrian fighter he saw shot down there was a Syrian mother whose son had just died.
Then I asked him if he remembered the story of the crossing of the Red Sea.
Without missing a beat he said, "I know what you're going to say, dad."
"You're going to tell me how G-d told the angels to stop singing after the waters closed up on the Egyptians, because those were G-d's children too, and they were dying."
You really can't ask more than that. We're blessed that his religious school teachers are doing such a great job with him.
(This recollection was prompted after I read this post by Ezer K'Negdo.)
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9 comments:
Excellent lesson. MBIDC is lucky to have a family where these lessons are actually reinforced. And you know I love the link :-)
Sometimes it is so easy for children to have their reality skewed by watching things on a computer. Everything seems to be a video game or stylized to the point that when the actually see something like this that it doesn't even register.
Good for you that your son had your teachings so ingrained in him that he can flip it back on you so quickly.
Religious(Catholic?, Hebrew?--my apologies I am guessing) school kids, no matter what anyone says, they are always smarter than the rest.
I am a 13 year veteran of the Catholic schools. We had to follow the rules (something that has long disappeared), we had to wear a uniform (big deal--real world training), we had to get good grades (easy), and we had to take, sometimes up to 2 or 3 religion classes in a given day.
Good for your son, it is good that some of the kids that are coming up have heads on their shoulders. Usually a good reflection of the parents.
I don't remember any angels singing at the red sea.
The only singing angels I remember from the Bible were singing about the birth of Christ.
You probably don't remember that one.
Seriously, is it actually in the Bible, or is this a later made up thing?
When I was about ten, a friend in Sunday School was quite certain that the little drummer boy from the Christmas songs was a real person.
EK: We feel lucky to have a kid who gets it. And I'm always glad for the occasion to link to a post that got my noodle noodling. Especially if it's yours.
Rachel: He consistently blows me away. And he's a clever little Monkey too. Any opportunity he can find to correctly predict what I was about to say leaves him beaming one of those "grown-ups are such simpletons" grins I just can't find the heart to begrudge him.
Evil-E: Thanks. I think my next post answers your query about which faith tradition I've been drawing on.
Laughing: My next post's got your answer too.
It is even hard for adults to realize that whomever you're fighting with is a person and has a mother and a family. Your son is so far ahead of most grown-ups.
Churlita: too true on the behavior of grown-ups. As to praise for Monkeyboy, you'll rarely hear an argument from me.
Except when it's time to do homework, or take a shower, or put down his PSP, or, well you get the idea.
Re: the drops of wine. AND you're not supposed to lick your finger if you use it to signify the plagues. Same concept. You'd be taking joy in someone else's sorrow.
I enjoyed this. Thanks.
"... for every Syrian fighter he saw shot down there was a Syrian mother whose son had just died."
You get it. Thanks, David.
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