By Rabbi Yossi Rubin – Clifton Park, NY

50 years ago, in Iyar 5736 (1976), the Rebbe introduced Mivtza Chinuch, the “Education Campaign.” On Beis Iyar, the Rebbe held his third farbrengen that month — an unusual occurrence — explaining that he had farbrenged three times (Rosh Chodesh night, Shabbos Rosh Chodesh, and Sunday night, Beis Iyar) to create a chazokah, for this new campaign. The Rebbe was giving us lasting strength to the mission of chinuch – that every Jew, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, must take part in education.

The Rebbe declared that Mivtza Chinuch was not limited to teachers or classrooms. It was a “general-great mivtza that includes all general mivtzoim” – for chinuch shapes every part of Jewish life. Each person, he said, must be both a student and a teacher, always learning and always inspiring others.

The Rebbe emphasized that even children themselves are natural educators.

“Children naturally make friends with others their age, and when they learn something new, their first instinct is to run and share it.” That natural urge to share and even to compete can be directed toward kedushah

Parents and teachers should speak with their children and inspire them to use every encounter — at home, in school, or on the street — to influence another child positively in Yiddishkeit. When a child proudly shares a new mitzvah or Torah idea, it awakens in their friend the desire to learn and do more as well. (Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5736) 

The Rebbe’s approach of chinuch is deeply rooted in the example of his predecessors. The Rebbe Rashab embodied what it means to have a wholesome chinuch. As a child of only four or five, he entered the room of his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, and burst into tears, asking:

“Why did Hashem appear to Avraham Avinu, but not to me?” The Tzemach Tzedek answered: “When a Jew of ninety-nine years resolves to circumcise himself, he deserves that Hashem appear to him.”

The Rebbe explained that this story reveals something revolutionary in chinuch: that even a very young child can experience a deep thirst for Elokus, for G-dliness. Proper education can awaken within a child a yearning so pure that spirituality itself becomes as real and desirable as the “articles that please his childish mind.”

This story opened a new channel in chinuch – enabling us to cultivate in even the youngest children an instinctive love and sensitivity to kedusha. (Likkutei Sichos, vol. 20, p. 61)

And the Rebbe added: “If a teacher is not successful in awakening this within his students, it is only because he has not spoken from his heart. Had he spoken from his heart, he would have surely succeeded.”

From this, we see that chinuch in the Rebbe’s vision is not mechanical, nor merely academic. It must be alive and personal — flowing from the teacher’s soul into the child’s soul.

In another sicha (Shabbos Parshas Vayechi 5750), the Rebbe explained that children naturally feel as if “the whole world was created for me.” A child’s natural self-importance is not a flaw — it is a holy potential.

“We must educate them that this feeling takes form in an appropriate way – that the world was created for them to bring light to it.”

Even with the youngest children, education begins from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning. In 5751 (Gimmel d’Slichos), the Rebbe described how a child’s first words upon awakening – Modeh Ani – must be filled with awareness that Hashem has given him life anew.

“He sways and says Modeh Ani with his whole body, proclaiming that his soul was returned by Hashem. This affects him the entire day.”

From the first words of morning to the final Shema Yisrael at night, chinuch means guiding the child to live with the consciousness of Hashem in every moment.

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People ask: What is the Rebbe’s methodology on Chinuch?  

Perhaps the Rebbe’s approach to education, his derech hachinuch was to empower shluchim and mechanchim to have mesiras nefesh for chinuch with joy and a full heart. And to train the eye and heart of every educator to see within each of our children and students their neshama, their pure heart – the chelek Eloka mima’al mamash..

That was the Rebbe’s greatest investment in chinuch, more than any methodology or system.

The Rebbe’s approach to chinuch was not centered on a new program or educational model, but on awakening a sense of sacred mission within every parent, teacher, and shliach. Education is not simply the transfer of information or the shaping of behavior – it is the revelation of the neshama, the inner G-dly spark that is already holy and whole within every child.

When a mechanech believes in the inherent G-dliness of each student, chinuch becomes an act of uncovering rather than imposing – of revealing light rather than correcting darkness.

Three Points in the Rebbe’s Chinuch

(1) Seeing the Divine Image in Every Child
The Rebbe urged educators to look past a child’s outward behavior and to see his or her inner essence – their chelek Eloka mima’al mamash. When a teacher approaches a child from this perspective, every word and every gesture becomes filled with patience and unwavering confidence in the child’s potential for goodness.

(2) Empowering the Educator
The Rebbe placed immense trust in melamdim and mechanchim, encouraging them to dedicate themselves with mesiras nefesh. Yet this devotion was never meant to be heavy or burdensome. It had to be infused with joy. For the Rebbe, true chinuch requires the educator’s entire being given over with happiness.

(3) Chinuch as the Foundation of Geulah
The Rebbe saw education as the key to geulah. Through chinuch, we raise a generation living with awareness of Hashem and readiness for Moshiach. Each child educated in this way becomes a lamp of Geulah, spreading elokus and transforming the world.

The Rebbe’s methodology was not a method at all, but a vision — a call to believe in the boundless holiness within every Jewish child. To educate not from duty, but from deep faith. To teach not merely from the mind, but from the heart. To reveal the chelek elokah within every young child and to do so with joy, and infinite love.

When educators and parents live this way, chinuch becomes not only a tool of learning, but a way to bring Geulah – illuminating the world with the light of yiddishe children.

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The following are 20 quotes from the Rebbe on Chinuch:

1. “Shnas HaChinuch — The Year of Education”
   “שנת החינוך – היא שנה כללית הנוגעת לכל אחד ואחת מישראל, בכל מקום שהוא.”
   “The Year of Education is not only for schools or teachers; it concerns every Jew, everywhere.”
   Context: Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5736 – The Rebbe launches Mivtza Chinuch, declaring that every Jew must become involved in education, both personally and communally.
   
2. “Every Child Is Already a Flame”
   “הנשמה של הילד היא כבר נר דולק … צריך רק להגן עליו מן הרוח ולתת לו שמן – תורה ומצוות – שיבער כראוי.”
   “The child’s soul is already a burning flame; it only needs to be shielded from the wind and nourished with the oil of Torah and mitzvos.”
   Context: Yud Alef Nissan 5732 – The Rebbe emphasizes that chinuch is about uncovering holiness, not manufacturing it.
   
3. “True Chinuch Requires Mesiras Nefesh – with Joy”
   “חינוך אמיתי דורש מסירות נפש — לא רק זמן ומאמץ, אלא את הלב והנפש. אבל המסירות צריכה להיות בשמחה, כי אין זכות גדולה מזו.”
   “True education demands self-sacrifice – not only of time and effort, but of one’s heart and soul. Yet this sacrifice must be with joy, for there is no greater privilege.”
   Context: Chof Av 5736 – The Rebbe describes the mechanech’s calling as one of total devotion, yet infused with joy and not as a burden.
   
4. “Every Child Can Be a Shliach”
   “כאשר ילד מברך ברכה או עוזר לילד אחר – הוא נעשה שליח ה’ להביא אור לעולם.”
   “When a child makes a blessing or helps another child, he becomes a messenger of Hashem to bring light into the world.”
   Context: Shabbos Parshas Tzav 5741 – The Rebbe empowers every child to see themselves as a shliach, capable of influencing others.
   
5. “Chinuch Is the Foundation of Geulah”
   “Education must prepare the young to live lives inspired by moral and ethical values, to recognize the Divine image within themselves, and to bring goodness and kindness to all mankind.”
   Context: Education Day USA proclamation, 1978 – The Rebbe frames chinuch as the moral bedrock of society and the pathway to redemption.
   
6. “Chinuch Is Not a Profession — It’s a Shlichus”
   “To educate a Jewish child is not merely a task – it is a holy mission, a partnership with the Creator Himself.”
   Context: Igros Kodesh, vol. 33 — The Rebbe teaches that a melamed or mechanech must see themselves as a divine emissary.
   
7. “Every Word Builds a Soul”
   “מלה אחת של עידוד, של אהבה, יכולה לשנות את כל מהותו של תלמיד.”
   “One word of encouragement, one word of love, can transform an entire child.”
   Context: Sicha to mechanchim, 5737 – The Rebbe stresses the creative power of positive language in shaping a child’s sense of self.
   
8. “Parents Are the First Mechanchim”
   “The home is the child’s first classroom, and the parents are the first teachers. The spirit that reigns at home forms the foundation of all future education.”
   Context: Igrot Kodesh, vol. 31 – The Rebbe explains that true chinuch begins with the parents’ example and atmosphere.
   
9. “Begin Chinuch Immediately”
   “From the moment a child begins to understand, he must already be educated  and immediately become a source of education for others.”
   Context: Sicha, 5736 – The Rebbe instructs to start early: as soon as a child can speak, teach them ‘Torah tzivah lanu Moshe.’
   
10. “Through Chinuch We Bring Moshiach”
    “על ידי חינוך נכון – מחנכים את העולם כולו לגאולה שלמה.”
    “Through proper education we are educating the entire world toward the complete geulah.”
    Context: Sichos of the early 5740s – The Rebbe ties Mivtza Chinuch directly to preparing the world for Geulah.
    
11. “Every Child Is a World”
    “ילד אחד הוא עולם שלם.”
    “A single child is an entire world.”
    Context: Igrot Kodesh, vol. 25 – The Rebbe echoes the Mishnah that saving one life is saving a world, urging educators never to give up on any child.
    
12. “Education Never Ends”
    “Chinuch is not only for children. Every person must educate himself anew each day to grow higher in holiness.”
    Context: Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach 5738 – The Rebbe teaches that chinuch is lifelong self-refinement.
    
13. “Teach by Living”
    “More than what a teacher says, the student learns from who the teacher is.”
    Context: Sicha to mechanchim, 5739 – The Rebbe defines the educator as a dugma chayah, a living example.
    
14. “Chinuch Is Planting Eternity”
    “When you plant Torah and Yiras Shamayim in a child, you are planting eternity itself – for it will bear fruit for generations.”
    Context: Letter to a principal, 5742 – The Rebbe likens chinuch to sowing eternal seeds.
    
15. “Ahavas Yisrael Is the First Lesson”
    “The foundation of all education is love – a child must feel that he is loved by his teachers, and that he must love his fellow.”
    Context: Lag BaOmer 5736 – At the children’s rally, the Rebbe connected Ahavas Yisrael to the core of chinuch.
    
16. “A Child’s Purity Must Be Protected”
    “Children are like young saplings – even a small wind can affect them. It is our sacred duty to guard their purity with utmost care.”
    Context: Igrot Kodesh, vol. 26 – The Rebbe urges educators and parents to shield children from negative influences.
    
17. “Educate with Simchah”
    “שמחה פורצת גדר – גם בגדרים של תלמידים.”
    “Joy breaks through all barriers, even the inner barriers within a child.”
    Context: Sicha, Parshas Re’eh 5737 – The Rebbe connects simchah to success in chinuch: happiness opens hearts.
    
18. “The Child Must Be a Partner”
    “Education succeeds when the student feels that he is a partner – not a passive listener, but a participant.”
    Context: Shabbos Parshas Vayeishev 5741 – The Rebbe emphasizes empowering the learner.
    
19. “Educate Each Child According to His Way”
    “חנוך לנער על פי דרכו – לראות בכל ילד את הדרך המיוחדת שלו בעבודת ה’.”
    “Educate the child according to his way recognizing each one’s unique path in serving Hashem.”
    Context: The Rebbe highlights individualized attention and respect for every neshama.
    
20. “The Future of Klal Yisrael Depends on Chinuch”
    “The strength and continuity of our people depend entirely on the purity and depth of its education.”
    Context: Letter to educators, 5736 – The Rebbe calls chinuch the foundation of Jewish continuity and redemption.
    

Chinuch is not about changing children; it is about revealing their G-dliness and believing in their boundless light. Through such chinuch, we illuminate the world and hasten the Geulah Shleimah.