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 

PURELY COMMENTARY

LOCATED IN THE BIRMINGHAM RAIL DISTRICT 929 S ETON STREET
OPEN THUR & FRI 12-5PM SAT 11AM-6PM OR BY APPOINTMENT 248.550.1008 mark@matthildur.com www.MATTHILDUR.com

M AT T H I L D U R M A R K K E L L E R

SINCE 1975

A U T U M N / W I N T E R 2 3