Color War
Educational Value of Color War
Why is Color War so important? Why do we prioritize it? It goes well beyond the fun.
There’s a well-known tale about Reb Zusha of Hanipol. When Reb Zusha was on his deathbed, his students found him hysterically crying. They tried to comfort him by telling him that he had wisdom like Moshe and kindness like Avraham, so he was sure to be received positively in the Olam Haba (World to Come). He replied, "When I get to Olam Haba, I will not be asked Why weren't you like Moses, or Why weren't you like Abraham. They will ask, “Why weren't you like Zusha?"
Education isn’t about putting students into a mold and churning out cookie-cutter duplicates. Chinuch is about helping students find the unique and innate potential that is laden in every single person, every single neshama, and giving them the tools to help them bring that potential to the world.
There are two magnificent sources that I often quote regarding this topic - and I consistently repeat them because of how core to our values they are. First: The Piaseczner, R. Kalonymous Kalman Shapira z”l, writes that the word l’chanech - which means both “to educate” and also “to inaugurate” - contains the essence of education:
תבה לעצמה היא תבת חנוך, ונאמרה על הוצאת ההכשרה אשר באדם או בכלי מן הכח אל הפעל
The word, chinuch, is unique, particular. It is said about bringing out the inherent capability that is in a person or a thing from the potential to the actual.
That’s precisely what Color War is. Yes, there are fun activities, but each one is thoughtfully designed to tap into the unique skill sets and talents of our students - and talents that don’t always get “facetime” in the regular classroom. Essentially, Color War is our way of turning to our students and saying, “Calling all:
- Bakers
- Choreographers
- Musicians
- Lyricists
- Performers
- Athletes
- Videographers
- Video editors
- Playwrights
- Artists
- Trivia buffs
- Torah buffs
- Lahav (our Limudei Kodesh curriculum) specialists
- Michadshei Torah (writers of Divrei Torah and those who share novel insights into Torah learning)
- Mathematicians
- Eaters
- Chemists
- Hebrew language specialists
- Logic-problem solvers
We need you! It’s your moment to shine!”
A team absolutely cannot win Color War without tapping into all of these talents, without elevating and celebrating every unique student. Without ensuring that every single student is not the best Adam or Rachel or Moshe or Sarah or Zusha - but their best self.
But, that’s only Part 1. It’s not only about highlighting and celebrating the individual. Part 2 is about how those individual talents build community. The second source that I often quote is from the Aruch HaShulchan (R. Yechiel Michel Epstein, Introduction to Choshen Mishpat): “וכל התורה כולה נקראת שירה, ותפארת השיר היא כשהקולות משונים זה מזה - The entire Torah is called a song, and the beauty of the song arises from the differences of its various voices.” Color War is about rewriting Shalhevet’s song each and every year. It’s about taking all of those different, unique, beautiful voices and creating a stunning symphony of kedusha (holiness). All you had to do was be there during Closing Ceremonies to see what I mean. Besides for the presentations of banner and Stomp and cakes and videos, we had an impromptu “chagiga.” That’s what Color War does; it brings our school together. It creates community from all the unique, individual pieces. It’s our “song.” It creates a brilliant flame out of all the individual lights - and that’s our “Shalhevet.”