The Torah in Parashat Shoftim discusses the situation of a person who had built a new house but was recruited to the army before he had a chance to live in it. Such a person would be sent home before battle. The Torah refers to this individual as האיש אשר בנה בית ולא חנכו – a person who built a house but has not done חינוך(20:5). Rashi explains: חינוך לשון התחלה – the root ח.נ.ך. means "begin." In this pasuk, לא חנכו means that the person built a new house but hasn't yet begun using it.
The word חינוך, of course, is used also in reference to education. And Rashi's brief comment here sheds light on what חינוך is and how parents need to approach it.
חינוך means "beginning." That is all. It means we prepare our children for the future, we get them off to a good start by teaching them how to live. It does not mean we control their lives, that we decide their lives, that we don't let them make their decisions. Controlling children is not חינוך. Education requires knowing when to let go, when to let children make their own decisions, to empower them by showing them that we trust them and have confidence in them.
The founder of our nation, Avraham Avinu, is called in the Torah אברהם העברי. He is not called "Avraham the Tzadik," or "Avraham the Holy One." He is called the עברי, which means that he came from the other side of the river. He moved to the Land of Israel, but he was from the other side of the Euphrates River, so he was called העברי.
Why is this Avraham's name? Why does it matter that he came from the other side of the river?
The answer is that this name expresses Avraham Avinu's most important quality – and the most important quality that we need to develop within our children.
As the Midrash explains: כל העולם מעבר אחד, והוא מעבר אחד – the entire world was on one side, and he was on the other side. Avraham Avinu had confidence. He had the confidence to be different, to swim against the current, to stand alone. When the whole world was worshipping idols, he taught the belief in Hashem. When the whole world was selfish and corrupt, he taught and exemplified kindness and generosity. He followed his beliefs and convictions even when the entire world followed different beliefs and convictions.
This is what our children need, especially in today's world. They need confidence. They need to believe in themselves. And one of the ways we give them this confidence and this belief in themselves is by getting involved, but not getting too involved; by setting limits, but knowing when to allow them to decide.
If we pull away completely, then we are not giving our children confidence. We are conveying the message that they aren't important enough, that they don't matter enough, for us to care. But if we smother them, if we exert too much control, then we make them feel feeble and incapable. This is the difficult balancing act that parenting requires us to do.
Somebody told me a remarkable story about Rav Yaakov Ruderman, the revered Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, who was recognized as one of the leading Torah sages in the United States. When his wife passed away, he moved in with one of his children, and he shared a bedroom with a grandson. He walked into the room and saw posters of famous sports stars on the walls. He asked his grandson who these people were, and his grandson – embarrassed – told him.
"You like them?" the great Rosh Yeshiva asked.
"Yes I do," the boy replied.
"Well if you like them," Rav Ruderman said, "then I LOVE them!"
This is a beautiful example of חינוך, of preparing a child for adult life through empowerment, by showing them that they are valued, that their interests are important to us. When we take interest in their lives while respecting their space and allowing them to make decisions, they feel our respect and our trust, and this gives them the confidence to stand מעבר אחד, alone on one side, to resist negative influences and live according to their beliefs and values.