The Resiliency and Faith of Youth
Babylonian Talmud鈥擬asekhet Berakhot 7a
讗诪专 诪专: 爪讚讬拽 讜讟讜讘 诇讜 – 爪讚讬拽 讘谉 爪讚讬拽, 爪讚讬拽 讜专注 诇讜 – 爪讚讬拽 讘谉 专砖注. 讗讬谞讬? 讜讛讗 讻转讬讘: (砖诪讜转 诇”讚) 驻拽讚 注讜谉 讗讘讜转 注诇 讘谞讬诐, 讜讻转讬讘: (讚讘专讬诐 讻”讚) 讜讘谞讬诐 诇讗 讬讜诪转讜 注诇 讗讘讜转 讜专诪讬谞谉 拽专讗讬 讗讛讚讚讬 讜诪砖谞讬谞谉: 诇讗 拽砖讬讗, 讛讗 – 讻砖讗讜讞讝讬谉 诪注砖讛 讗讘讜转讬讛诐 讘讬讚讬讛诐, 讛讗 – 讻砖讗讬谉 讗讜讞讝讬谉 诪注砖讛 讗讘讜转讬讛诐 讘讬讚讬讛诐
[In Rabbi Yose’s name, Rabbi Yohanan] taught previously: “A virtuous man who has good [fortune] is a virtuous son of a virtuous man; a virtuous man who has bad [fortune] is a virtuous son of a wicked man.”
But is this so? For, one verse says: “[I the Lord your God am an impassioned God,] visiting parents’ guilt upon their children” (Exod. 20:5); yet another verse says: ” . . . and children shall not be put to death for [the deeds of their] parents . . . ” (Deut. 24:16). A contradiction was identified between these two verses, but [our Sages] taught us there is no contradiction: the former verse deals with children who continue in the same course as their parents, and the latter verse with children who do not continue in the course of their parents.
Why do bad things happen to good people? That question is one of the oldest in our rabbinic tradition, and one of the thorniest that I have gotten in teaching throughout South Florida, where the concentration of Holocaust survivors and their descendants is especially high. In recent months, however, I have noticed how seldom young Jews raise that query in dealing with their own hardship: the misfortunes of our economy’s slow recovery from the Great Recession. My impressions match current demographic research about the kind of resilience and faith that largely define the character of my generation, and also attest to the wisdom of the midrash above regarding our parents’ actions.
Many of my peers who have come of age since the turn of the millennium, often called “Millennials,” have experienced adversities like debt and un- or underemployment either personally or among their close friends and family. However, these material challenges have yet to erode their trust in family, community, and society. In fact, the Pew Research Center’s landmark 2010 survey of Millennials reported that they prioritize being good parents, having a successful marriage, and helping others far above desires for wealth or leisure time. In a number of ways, Millennials express less skepticism about the government’s effectiveness and corporations’ practices than older Americans.
I see this information as affirming our parents’ and grandparents’ commitments to raising my generation with optimism and a conviction to make the world a better place to live. Perhaps that is na茂ve, and maybe we will someday view biblically the mess of the early 21st century as our punishment for the sins of an earlier era. I pray, though, that we will carefully evaluate the values, beliefs, and dreams of our elders for positive lessons, in order to preserve the pride we overwhelmingly feel for our unique identity and heritage as American Jews.
