In 19th century Russia the Cossacks used to routinely steal away Jewish children from their parents for conscription into the army. At that time the rabbis used to tell the parents and their offspring, “Always refrain from sucking he bones of meat and make sure you use a spoon for soup.”
They were deliberately given these instructions so that if the children were “khapped” when they grew up and returned to a community, they would be recognized as Jews.
-Rabbi Louis Jacobs
-Rabbi Louis Jacobs
What was taught to one generation is in valuable to the next: We must teach our children skills of survival that always include a later spiritual return to their “home.”
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