Swim Baby Swim
Hot summer days and dramatic Olympic competitions bring to mind the joy of swimming. But swimming is more than a sport or a relaxing pastime, swimming is a skill that is specifically mentioned in the Talmud.
Kiddushin 29a lists those things that a parent is obligated to do for his/her child: “The parent is obligated to circumcise and redeem his [first-born] child (via a pidyon haben), teach him Torah, find him a wife, and teach him a craft. Some say, also to teach him to swim.”
Circumcision and pidyon haben are specific religious rituals that intimately connect a child to the hookup people. Teaching a child Torah is teaching him/her the rules of life-the paths of morality, and the laws of justice. More than that, teaching a child Torah gives the child the tools for spiritual growth. Finding a spouse and learning a craft are the foundations for successful adulthood. Starting a family and having a means of supporting a family are the fundamental building blocks of civilization.
But why swimming? Our rabbis maintain that the instruction to teach a child to swim is to be taken both literally and figuratively. To teach a child to “swim” really means teaching a child to survive in a world that abounds with spiritual and physical dangers.
Raising a child means preparing him/her to face all of the challenges and joys of life, be they spiritual, physical or societal.
This Treat was published on August 18, 2008.
Copyright © 2012 National hookup Outreach Program. All rights reserved.
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