Is it possible to teach children to appreciate the world?
Absolutely, that's where it should be taught. And you should teach a child and tell him, isn't it beautiful that the sun is shining now? Explain the benefits of the sun. In the summertime the sun warms you, walk on the sunny side of the street, and walk on the sunny side of life!
The sun gives vitamins to you as it hits your skin, the sun gives you light, and it's all free energy, no landlord will send you a bill. Con Ed won't send you a bill. It's so beautiful, the sunlight.
It's a moshol of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The gemara says the sun is a moshol of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Just like the sun floods the world with happiness, light and joy, so does Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And you can teach children to enjoy sun… but we have to teach ourselves too, by the way, let's enjoy the sun.
We make the biggest Bracha in davening on the sun, doesn't it show the hypocrisy among us? The longest Bracha in davening is on the sun, baruch ata Hashem yotzer ohr, and it concludes yotzer ha'meoros, and the malachim are so excited over the sun that they say, kadosh, kadosh, kadosh b'raash gadol, with great excitement, and we who are the recipients of all this, we are not interested, we are asleep.
So there is a lot of work to be done, on children, and on ourselves.
The following Dvar Torah is taken from "The Beginning"
אפרש את־כפי אל־יהוה הקלות יחדלון והברד לא יהיה־עוד למען תדע כי ליהוה הארץ
(וארא ט:כט)
I shall spread out my palms to Hashem, the noises shall cease, and the hail shall be no longer, in order that you should know that the world belongs to Hashem.
(Va'eira 9:29)
The Plagues serve as models: when misfortune comes, men are expected to understand that Hashem is the author of the misfortune ("In order that you know that I am Hashem" - 7:17); so also when men are relieved of any misfortune, they are required to know that it is Hashem who is the cause of their relief.
Not only the Plagues come from Him, and not only the removal of the Plagues are His doing, but whatever transpires in the world is His doing, because "the world belongs to Hashem". When the hail ceased when Moshe spread his hands to Hashem, it was a demonstration of Hashem's power similar to the demonstration when the hail began at the command of Hashem.
Important Numbers
