Translation by Yehoshua Siskin ף
Once they asked a wise man to talk about his greatest dream. He answered that he had many dreams and professional aspirations, but above all he wanted to be a better father, a better husband, a better son, and a better grandson. At the end of his life, a person can leave many achievements behind, but his life’s work is not just about the degrees he earned or his profession. It’s also and primarily about family.
As the new month of Sivan begins, just days before Shavuot- the festival of the giving of the Torah, we are accustomed to pray in this vein. There is a custom instituted by the Shelah HaKadosh (Rabbi Yeshayahu HaLevi Horowitz) 500 years ago to pray for our children. In this prayer, entreaties appear that have been uttered by mothers and fathers throughout the generations until today. Here is a taste:
"Let us and our descendants and the descendants of all of your People Israel know your Name and study your Torah... And give them health and honor and strength, and give them high stature and beauty and gracefulness and kindness, and let there be love and brotherhood and peace between them, and may they worship You with love and awe... Grant them nothing but peace and truth and let them be good and honest in the eyes of God and in the eyes of man."
Amen.
