comfortable being surrounded by As parents, we must believe servants or having other people bow b’emunah sheleimah that the Ribono down to them. Yaakov “guarded the Shel Olam knows what is good for us thing,” the promise and the belief and for our children. We must recthat Yosef would indeed become great one day. If we believe in our chilThough he could not exdren and convey our plain to the brothers at the time what he understood, belief in them, they will he nonetheless believed in his son’s ability to belearn how to use their come a gadol b’Yisroel, and specific talents and he planned to guard his son and guard that predictraits to serve Hashem. tion that greatness awaited him in the future. Every child is born with a certain ognize the good part in them, even set of middos that he will need for his when it looks strange to us now. We unique life journey. Just as Yaakov must be careful not to undermine was able to recognize Yosef’s destiny who they are meant to be by pushfrom the actions and dreams of his ing our vision for our children onto youth, so too must we understand them. We can teach a child with that what we observe in our chil- leadership skills to be a compasdren hints at the role they will play sionate and diplomatic leader, and in the future. At times, it might look we can find creative outlets that will awkward to see a child ex- allow our children to utilize their hibit certain behaviors, but talents, but we must not humiliate Our role as parents is eventually, if we believe in them or mock their aspirations and not to change who our our children and convey personalities. Our role as parents is our belief in them, they not to change who our children are, children are, but to will learn how to use their but to daven for the ability to help daven for the ability to specific talents and traits to them develop their traits appropriHashem. For exam- ately. Only then can we fulfill our help them develop their serve ple, a child with great lead- mission as parents to help our chilership skills may become a dren become the best that they can traits appropriately. rosh chaburah, a rosh yeshivah be. or a mashgiach. Other traits plain that when Yaakov Avinu heard that are observed in children dur- Please note corrected phone number. Call Yosef’s dreams, he recognized that ing their youth may similarly turn Rabbi Dovid Steiman to purchase his Yosef would one day become a king. out to be essential for their life’s CDs, invite him to lecture or to schedule After all, not everyone would feel unique mission. an appointment. Yaakov made for Yosef, but Yosef also keeps telling his father things about his brothers, such as how some of them disrespect others. The Torah tells us how Yaakov loved Yosef more than his other sons, yet how Yosef’s brothers hated him. When Yosef shares his dreams and describes how he saw his brothers’ sheaves bowing down to his, and the stars, moon and sun bowing to him, the brothers become very upset. “Are you planning to be a king over us?” they demand. Yaakov Avinu is also upset with Yosef and asks, “What kind of dreams do you have, that I, your mother (who is no longer alive) and your brothers will come and bow till the ground to you?” The pasuk ends with the words: “And the father guarded the thing.” Great mechanchim point to an important lesson that the Torah teaches us with this incident. They ex-
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