Why Emunah Education Is So Crucial

Kids in the twenty-first century don’t take anything for granted. The chain of tradition by which our parents and grandparents passed down simple faith is often broken in too many places. Children have tons of questions, and when they don’t get answers, they are quickly disillusioned.

Questions such as:

• Why did Hashem choose Am Yisroel as His chosen nation?
• Is there a next world and what is it like?
• Do we really have free will? How does that jive with the idea of an all-knowing G-d?

Many of us don’t have answers to these questions at the tip of our tongues. We don’t know how to explain the basic tenets of Jewish faith in a comprehensive and satisfying way to a child who is just beginning to search for meaning. We find it difficult  to articulate ideas which are deep in our souls in a way that kids can understand them.

That’s why Torah Live has created the Ezra & Lauren Kest Emunah and Tefillah Project. This brand new video series starts from the most basic questions and builds a complete hashkafa in language that teenagers are easily able to learn from. Using animation, humor and the talents of a Hollywood filmmaker, this series will engage youngsters and leave them with a deeper love and appreciation of the gift we take for granted: Judaism.

Thank you Lauren & Ezra Kest for both conceiving this project and making it possible. And thank you Rabbi Aharon and Raizy Wilk of Maimonides School in Los Angeles for your incredible ideas and guidance, and Rabbi Pini Dunner of the Young Israel of Beverly Hills for getting the project off the ground in the first place.