This guide for connection and discussion is provided through a collaborative relationship with www.ValuesandEthics.org. Intended for parents, they can be utilized by educators in formal and informal environments to connect Torah topics to children's lives in meaningful ways.

Life is a series of choices that we make every day. Some choices don’t feel so important. A bagel versus cereal for breakfast probably won’t make much difference to us, but other choices definitively shape the direction of our lives and the impact we make on this world. Some of us are passionate about. The weighty choices are often tied to the things that we are most passionate about and the most invested in, which also makes them the choices in which we stand to lose the most. So it is no surprise that, when we find ourselves confronted with a choice, we use our passion to help us make our decision. But we must strive to find a balance between that passion and practicality.

In this week’s passage, Pinchas sees a fellow Israelite behaving in a way that he believes to be unjust. His passion is fueled and in his desire to right this injustice, he takes the law into his own hands. He did in fact see the man breaking a law, but does that mean that it was acceptable for him to serve as judge and jury?

Our lives would be empty without passion. The things that we care about – the environment, sports, politics, family, learning – add depth to our character, joy to our lives, and reasons to engage with the world. However, passion has to be tempered with reason. We need a balance in our lives. Sometimes our passion can drive us to take action, but sometimes we need to refrain. This balance can be incredibly difficult to achieve, yet there is great wisdom in it.

TALK TO YOUR KIDS about how their passions affect their actions.

CONNECT TO THEIR LIVES:

• What activity or interest are you most passionate about?

• Has there been a time when your passion caused you to act when you should have stood back?

• What would have happened had you not acted?

• Have your passions changed as you have grown older?

Values & Ethics—Through a Jewish Lens is created by Fred and Joyce Claar to bring the wisdom of Judaism into family discussions.