One of my many “roles and goals” is to share with teachers and parents how to be more Montessori focused. Sometimes this takes a more abstract form, sharing Montessori philosophy and outlook with them and showing them how this can affect and improve our lives, while other times it’s much more concrete. This week I was working with a group of teachers to better understand the Montessori math materials. The starting point is to understand that basic math is one of the fundamental skills, and it impacts so many things we do. A deep, clear understanding of math principles and concepts helps us not only maneuver our world and its elements more comfortably and effectively, but helps us understand and appreciate the world. And the roots for these concepts are best acquired at an early age!
I have four boys serving in the army: on the one hand I feel so proud of them for protecting our nation, while on the other I’m scared out of my mind. (I do have emunah - faith - but I am their mother!) Sometimes another feeling comes up, too, a feeling I’m not particularly proud of: unfairness. Why should I have 4 boys - sooooo many! - serving? This negative thought plagued my mind for weeks until this week, as I was teaching math and how it impacts our life, an answer came to me. I need to look at the universal math equation.
Math teaches perspective. The first concepts of math, such as more/less/equal, larger/smaller, the basics of numeracy, leading to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division all point us to understanding the relative place of numbers. I took a step back to think of my four boys in relation to all the Jews in the world. We have so many people - thousands and tens of thousands - who are each doing what they can to support and improve the world, the Jewish Nation, and Israel.
There are people who are serving, there are people who are learning, there are people who are raising money. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t added Tehillim or tefilos, or isn’t spending more time in their prayers… Some people are articulate and have a platform, so they raise their voices or put their points into articles in support of the Jewish People and Israel publicly. Artists are creating beautiful songs and moving videos to inspire and encourage our souls and raise morale. Other people pitch in simply by proudly displaying their Jewish faith. If I see my sons as my “ones and onlies” (and of course I do in many circumstances) I feel the pain, the fear, the negativity. But if I see them as part of this beautiful mathematical equation, a tiny part of an awesome whole, then my perspective changes. They are doing their part of the equation, equally with so many who are also doing their parts; and if any of these parts were missing, the result - our shelaymus, the National Whole - would not be the same!
I was able to take comfort from this thought in many ways. For one thing, it’s not up to me to choose how anyone else shows up and gives: the facts are the facts. I can control only my own self and my own thoughts, and that gives me the ability to make my understanding and awe of how Hashem runs the world grow daily. Another comforting element that strikes me is when I see that the equation really should not work…yet it does! We have heard story after story about personal and general miracles (we know there are no coincidences!).
Comments