In Parshat Ba’alotcha, we learn about the individuals who were unable to bring the Pesach offering on the 14th of Nisan because they were ritually unclean, having come into contact with a dead body. Undaunted and undeterred, they approached Moshe and Aharon insisting that they not be denied the ability to fulfill the mitzvah as others were able to do. Not having the power to grant them their request on his own, Moshe took their entreaties to Hashem who granted them a second chance, Pesach Sheni.
Being offered a second chance rewards persistence and self-advocacy, communicating that failure is not an end, but a step along the way to success. Failure does not define who we are. It is what we make of it that shapes how we see ourselves and our place in the world.
Rabbi Sacks, in his final interview, spoke about one of the lessons he discovered in life: the importance of believing in people more than they believe in themselves. He described feeling privileged to have known and worked with people who believed in him more than he believed in himself. Although incredulous to us perhaps, it is their belief in him that helped him overcome his self-doubt. Ultimately, in the words of Rabbi Sacks, Hakadosh Baruch Hu believes in us more than we believe in ourselves and made each of us his emissary in carrying forth that belief in others.
As educators and parents, it is our privilege to believe in the ability of our children to succeed, and we fulfill that privilege when we give them the chance to recover and learn from their mistakes. Mistakes and failures don’t define us. To the contrary, through persistence, self-advocacy, and strategic effort, we can use those setbacks to become resilient, successful, and self-actualized adults. That is the power of the growth mindset culture of OCA.
Every year, when our 8th graders graduate and take a moment to reflect on all that they learned at OCA, a central theme always emerges: how much they each blossomed under the care, guidance, and mentoring of their teachers, advisors, morot, and rebbeim, people who believed in them. That is our zechut, our privilege. B”H, there can be no greater nachat than being a part of the raising and educating of young people to not only have the necessary skills and knowledge for their next stage in life, but at their core to believe in themselves and in their capacity to do good.
Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a wonderful summer! We look forward to welcoming your children back to OCA in the fall.