Ethics of our Fathers: Chapter 4: MIshna 25: Reaching Goals in Learning

"Elisha ben Avuyah said, 'If one learns when he is young. to what is it like? To ink written on new (clean) paper. If one learns when he is old, to what is it like? To ink written on blotted paper'".

The purpose of education is to teach us (at least in theory) to think for ourselves and use the information to prepare us to be productive members of society. There is a major difference, though in learning when one is young and when one is old.

When a person is young, they remember things much better. Although we need to constantly review to make sure that we remember what we learned, nonetheless, it will stay with us much longer than if we started out learning if we were older.

Just ask any teacher after summer vacation and school starts how long it takes the students to get back in the swing of things in their new classes. They often have to do some review of what they learned the previous year so that they will be able to use that information to integrate it into their classes.

This is why the Mishna compares learning when one is young to new paper. Yes the paper can be erased but they will still remember better than when they are older. The reason is when a person learns later in life, it is that much more difficult to retain the learning since it becomes forgotten easily.

This is precisely the reason that learning Torah later in life is such a great challenge. Without having the proper base as a kid, it is an uphill struggle that takes great effort to achieve. Learning Torah in general takes great effort, but if the base is there earlier in life, it is much easier to succeed later.

We should not lose hope for those that have started learning at a later age as we can look to none other than Rabbi Akiva who only started his formal learning at the age of 40 and became one of the great sages of the Jewish people. Through great effort and diligence one can attain great goals even if they started learning later in life.

The Mishna wants to emphasize the importance of not only continued learning, but starting from a very young age. This is how we train our children in mitzvah observance by teaching them so young. Another reason is if we try and teach them when they are older, the yetzer harah (evil inclination) is much greater and they may not be interested. They will already be tempted by other things society has to offer and the pull may be too great for the Torah to have an influence on them.

If we get them used to mitzvah performance by educating them and living by the precepts of the Torah, we will be successful in transmitting its priceless message! That doesn't mean people cannot be successful later in life but they are at a disadvantage. If they put in the effort and really try, then even later in life they can attain great things!