4 | AUGUST 31 • 2023
essay
Back to School:
Open Letter to Our Next Generation
D
ear Incoming Students
of 2023-2024,
Here we are again at
the beginning of a new year.
“How is this year different
than any other
year?” you might
wonder.
You might be
feeling a mixture
of excitement and
anxiety to dis-
cover who your
teachers are, what
new friends you
will make, and what new sub-
jects you will study.
You might have read that the
world is changing really fast —
robots, artificial intelligence and
global shifts like we have not
seen in a while — and wonder
what that means for you. What
skills are most important as you
go into this world that is chang-
ing so fast?
“What subjects should I focus
on most?” you may wonder.
“What jobs will be available
when I grow up?” and many
more questions might be right-
fully running through your
head.
I am not a prophet and can-
not answer many of these ques-
tions with certainty, but here is
what I can tell you.
No matter how much this
world changes, the need and
ability to make real human
connections will always be
there. You do not have to con-
nect with every person to be a
good friend or a kind person,
to be trusted, to not take cheap
shots at someone less popular
or more vulnerable than you,
to say please and thank you, to
look someone in the eye and
say you appreciate them or that
you are sorry. These will always
remain with you.
When I say real, I mean
real. In a world where so many
connect to others only through
screens and usernames, the
need for real friendships is
greater than ever. Whether it
is going to visit someone who
is sick, attending a bar or bat
mitzvah or spending the day
volunteering, real human con-
nections will remain with you
for the rest of your life.
Which brings us to what the
world needs most today. It may
sound corny, cliché and super-
ficial, but it is the truth. The
world needs kind people. Not
kind people who will be quiet,
hide in their corner and be
pushed over. The world needs
kind leaders, people who will
show this world a better path.
Who will spread their kind-
ness to help create a kinder and
happier society? We need a real
alternative to the mean-spir-
itedness that is spreading so
quickly through social media
and has taken over so many
aspects of public life today. We
need you.
While so many of your par-
ents and teachers were born in
a world with no social media
and little internet, you were
born into a world that is inter-
connected, and it is you who
will know how to change that
all for the better.
As you begin this year,
remember how much the
world needs you. Of course,
you should do your best to
excel in every subject, get
good grades and follow school
expectations. Yet above that,
your ability to transform this
world with kindness, make
real connections, form lasting
friendships, and establish your
reputation as a trustworthy
and caring person — all begin
today.
There is not one — but
more than one hundred gen-
erations — of Jews who are
looking at you now and know
that you are our best hope and
our future. You are everything
we have. We have faith in you,
we believe in you, and we are
cheering you on.
Tachel Shana U’Birkoteha,
Let this year and its bless-
ings begin. You have this.
Rabbi Elchanan Poupko is a New
England based 11th-generation rabbi,
teacher and author. He is the presi-
dent of EITAN — The American Israeli
Jewish Network.
Rabbi
Elchanan
Poupko
Times of
Israel
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