To my dear grandson, on your first day of school
In a personal letter, President Rivlin tells grandson Shai and the children of Israel on the first day of school to remember to open their hearts to new friends, and always be thirsty for more knowledge.
To my dear grandson Shai and to the children of Israel,
The moment has arrived: The school year begins, your backpack is already filled with notebooks and a pencil case. With a bag loaded with school supplies, you and Mom are marching to school. Welcome to the First Grade.
This past summer vacation was a bit different. Some of the activities at the summer day camp have been canceled. You were alert and ready. Like the adults, you knew you had to rush to shelter.
And now the biggest day of all has arrived, carrying with it a new beginning. Today you are marching to school, to new and old friends, to a blessed routine of studying.
In a year you'll know how to read. The whole world will be opened before you. You could follow Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Your questions will be sharper and more profound than ever. You will continue discovering the world. You learn important things at school: Hebrew and calculus, history and Bible studies. But the most important thing you learn is to love knowledge and the importance of good friendships and close friends.
My dear, I know you love stories, so I want to tell you one.
From of all of the years I spent in the education system, I particularly remember the 1951 school year. The state of Israel was experiencing a hard winter, some of the heaviest snow fell in many places and we experienced the fiercest cold in the history of Israel.
The new immigrants at the time lived in tents and tin shacks, exposed to the cold and the elements. The Yemeni immigrants, who have just arrived as part of Operation Magic Carpet, were having a particularly hard time and the "veteran" families were asked to open their homes to Yemeni immigrant children. One of those children came to our house. Salem was his name. A proud and clever boy, alert and polite.
Salem was fluently reading in Hebrew. He knew how to read the right way up, upside down and from the sides. He knew the Torah in its entirety, from the Mishna to halacha, by heart.
But Salem didn't know how to read the round writing, the pure Hebrew writing, which the Jews of Yemen were not used to. He also didn't know calculus very well.
Salem never even considered giving up or quitting. I remember Salem, stubbornly sitting to improve his writing and his calculus studies with studiousness and hard work. My brothers and I volunteered to help him, while he on his part passed up the opportunity to play outside and diligently studied instead.
I remember how impressed I was by his seriousness, even as a child. Salem became, in my eyes, a symbol of diligence, devotion and determination. A symbol to marking your goal - and achieving it. A symbol of good and strong friendship.
Today Salem is Shalom. Shalom Cohen. A close and dear friend who has served in key positions in the state of Israel.
During these moments, when you make your way to school for the first time, remember you can overcome obstacles, you can succeed and you should always open your heart to new friends and be thirsty for more and more knowledge.
Good luck,
Your grandfather, who loves you so much.
