When people left the ancient city of Babel there arose a need for a consistent and systematic teaching in order to raise the new generation with the values of correct attitude amongst people. This originated from the science of Kabbalah. It was at this time that the notion of a school emerged. Children in that group were taught to read and write at the age of three. They learned to unite amongst themselves to attain the perception of the spiritual world. The learning process was in the form of discussions: experienced people shared their knowledge with others (including children) in groups where all could participate through questions, debate, and discussion.

The ancient Greeks, who received their philosophy and natural sciences from Kabbalah, also adopted its school format. Translated from ancient Greek the word “school” means “leisure” – a place where people spent their spare time. People came there precisely for that purpose.

It is obviously a far cry from the modern school. Today, a child is obligated to attend school to receive an education. However, a child needs to want to be in the atmosphere called school because otherwise he or she does not learn.

First and foremost, a child will develop and with the school’s help, a person is shaped. Not by dumping knowledge into his head, but by changing him, making him understand himself, Nature and human society. He has to know what to change inside himself in order to attain his life’s purpose. By changing himself, he will then understand what occurs in the world and in Nature. He needs to be assisted in that through exciting conversations.

When a group of equals gets together, age is not a factor. The teacher does not suppress or limit – he stays at the common level. The children teach other children, and the school as a whole becomes a place of communication, learning, conversations, and associations of children, where everyone can participate freely.

The science of Kabbalah teaches that a person is brought up by his environment. What we need in school is not walls, teachers or textbooks. We need to form a society in which every child would feel an obligation to be everyone’s friend and to support the society as best as he can. Such natural attributes as envy, competitiveness and ambition will help a child advance because he would be sensitive to the reaction within his environment.

If we teach one generation correctly, they will pass their experience on to their children. The descent of generations will stop, and the ascent will begin.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: School Daze: How to Help Form A Human
Don’t Blame It on the Young
Kabbalah for Children
Kabbalah Today Article: Spiritual Education
Baal HaSulam Article: “Introduction to the Book, The Tree of Life”, Item 3

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