“My Father Stood Up to the Soviets”

The Midrash tells us that the rabbis of the Sanhedrin used to travel to all the Jewish towns of Israel to instruct the Jewish people in the ways of Torah. Before they embarked on their journey, they would reinforce their clothing with iron chainmail in order to withstand the long, arduous journey.

There is a general obligation of Jewish education. But beyond this, one must also be prepared with “armor.”

My father sacrificed his life for the Jews of the Soviet Union. He was punished and imprisoned for his efforts to spread Judaism, and he was eventually exiled… Nevertheless, he persisted. But this requires that one don protective “armor,” to be fearless in the face of adversity, using your entire being in your mission to educate the young – whether young in knowledge or in age – so that every single Jew should mature in Jewish knowledge until he, too, will achieve greatness in this mission.