- Sippurei Tzadikim: Telling Children Stories of Tzaddikim and Miracles[1]
- The Educational Value
One of the most powerful ways to educate a child is through stories. Long before a child can grasp deep ideas or abstract concepts, his heart is already open, and his soul is listening. Stories of tzaddikim, especially stories filled with faith and miracles, speak directly to a child’s neshama and leave a lasting impression.
When a child hears about great tzaddikim—about their devotion to Hashem, their trust, and the open miracles that surrounded them—this plants emunah deeply within him. There is almost no stronger way to connect a child to Hashem than through such stories. They teach the child, in a simple and loving way, that Hashem is real, involved, and close.
Stories about the Baal Shem Tov and his students have played this role for generations. Through these stories, children learn that the world is guided not only by nature, but by Divine providence. They hear how simple Jews were cherished, how sincere prayer was powerful, and how Hashem responds to trust and humility. Long before the child understands theology, he absorbs faith as something natural and alive.
Some people argue that children should not hear stories that sound miraculous or supernatural. They feel that such stories are too fantastic, almost like fairy tales, and that children should first be taught only what seems logical and rational. According to this approach, miracle stories should be saved for later years, once a child’s mind has matured.
However, the Chassidic approach strongly disagrees with this view.
Chassidus teaches that emunah comes before understanding. A child should first learn to believe, to trust, and to accept the reality of Hashem and His power. Only afterward does the intellect deepen and explain what the heart already knows. Even mitzvot and ideas that later make sense intellectually must first be rooted in simple faith and acceptance.
This approach is not theoretical; it has been lived and practiced. There is a well‑known story told by the Rebbe Rayatz about a school teacher in the days of the Alter Rebbe who was a secret Maskil named Shimon Hakofer who believed that children should not be taught Rashi or Midrashim that contain miraculous or wondrous elements. When he expressed this to the Alter Rebbe in Yechidus, it was immediately recognized that he was a secret Maskil.
The same idea appears clearly in Chabad teachings about education. Children must be taught stories that go beyond logic—stories of miracles, of tzaddikim who changed reality through faith. These stories do not confuse the child’s thinking; they build the child’s soul. They train the child to see the world as a place where Hashem is active and present, not distant or abstract. When children grow up surrounded by stories of tzaddikim and miracles, these stories become part of who they are. In later years, when challenges arise and questions grow stronger, they draw from these early impressions. The faith absorbed in childhood does not disappear—it becomes an inner strength.
In this sense, miracle stories are not an escape from reality. They present a deeper reality, one in which Hashem guides the world openly and lovingly. Teaching these stories to children is not only appropriate; it is essential. It shapes their emunah, connects them to generations of tzaddikim, and anchors their relationship with Hashem from the very beginning of life.
- The Bonding that ever lasts
Beyond education, telling children stories of tzaddikim and miracles is also a powerful way for a parent to bond with a child. When a father or mother sits with a child before bedtime, on a Friday night, or at any quiet moment, and gently tells a story of tzaddikim and open miracles, something deep is created. Not only does this place emunah in Hashem and trust in tzaddikim firmly within the child’s heart, but it also builds a loving connection between parent and child. Many children grow up remembering these moments with warmth — how their parent held them close and spoke softly about faith and miracles. These memories remain with them into old age, strengthening both their relationship with Hashem and their connection to their parents.
From a clinical perspective, shared storytelling between parent and child is known to strengthen emotional attachment and a child’s sense of safety. When a parent regularly sets aside calm, personal time—such as before bedtime or on Friday night—to speak with a child, hold them, and tell meaningful stories, the child associates learning, faith, and warmth with closeness and love. Research shows that these moments create secure bonding and lasting emotional memories, which often remain a source of comfort and identity well into adulthood. In this way, stories of tzaddikim and miracles nurture not only emunah, but also a deep sense of being loved and protected.
Free Translation of the writings of the Rebbe
The Previous Rebbe related that when his children were small, he hired a teacher for them.
This teacher held the view that it is not necessary to tell children matters in Judaism that are frightening or wondrous—miracles that are not understood according to intellect.
Such matters, he believed, are intended for adults who already understand matters through intellect, and only afterward is it possible to add matters of miracles.
But for children, such things confuse logic and intellect.
Therefore, according to this teacher’s view, one should speak only about those matters of Judaism that are logical according to intellect.
When this approach of the teacher became known to the Rebbe Rashab of blessed memory, he dismissed him immediately.
One must begin specifically with faith and acceptance of the yoke, and not with intellect.
Even those matters that are understandable according to intellect must be fulfilled out of acceptance of the yoke.
And so too in the matter of education, one must tell children matters of miracles that are above intellect.
This plants faith within them.
And the claims that this is not according to proper order, and that one should not begin with matters that bewilder the intellect, and similar arguments—these originate from the Evil Inclination, the old and foolish king.
(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 19, p. 93)
This matter is understood simply by every Jewish child, since he is told the well‑known story of the Baal Shem Tov, and in this way he is told additional stories from the Torah about miracles and Divine Providence. Specifically, such stories must be told to children, and not—as others do—so‑called “grandmother stories,” but rather stories taken from the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, or true stories about tzaddikim.
In this manner one must educate a Jewish child regarding the verse, “To the One who alone performs great wonders.” The education of a Jewish child must be such that he knows that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs great wonders for him, and that He arranges the causes in the world in order to provide for all his needs—food, drink, and the like.
And as is well known, the story told by the Previous Rebbe, that one must tell stories of miracles even to the very smallest children, not according to the opinion of mistaken educators who claim that small children become confused if they are told miracle stories.
For example, when one tells a child that when Moshe Rabbeinu struck the rock, water came forth, there are educators who believe that this story confuses the child, since the child knows that the way of the world is that water flows from wells, rivers, and streams, but not from rocks. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to provide water to the Jews, He should have created a spring or a river, but not brought water out of a rock.
Regarding this, the Previous Rebbe says that this is a complete mistake in the educational approach toward a Jewish child. On the contrary, one must explicitly tell children stories of miracles, and that even in our time the Holy One, blessed be He, performs great wonders for this child. This is a great foundation in his education.
And the truth is that the need to tell a Jewish child about the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs great wonders for him is not only because this is the correct educational approach, but because this is the truth. And as our Sages say, every single person is obligated to say: “The world was created for me.” This includes a small Jewish child as well.
Therefore, it is indeed true that the Holy One, blessed be He, arranges events for the good, and performs great wonders and changes in the world, for this Jewish child. Especially since, with regard to a child, this is “breath in which there is no sin,” which has an effect on the world.
As in the example brought above regarding the vehicle and the beverage seller who provide drink for a Jewish child.
And as stated, telling this to a Jewish child is a great foundation in his education. Such education brings about that his outlook on the world in general, and on his own place within the world in particular, will be completely different.
(Sichot Kodesh, 5741 / 1980–81, Vol. 1)
[1] See Shaareiy Chinuch p. 54 and 151; Likkutei Sichos 19:93; Hisvadyos 5749 2:291; Sichos Kodesh 5741 1:246