The Torah addresses the “later” generation, who will question the devastation that befell the Jewish People and their land. They will surmise that Klal Yisrael forsook Hashem for deities that were nothing more than figments of their imagination. This resulted in Hashem’s reciprocal response. The Bais Halevi approaches this pasuk homiletically, but practically. He observes that one day “your children will arise -who will know as much about Jewish tradition and its noble heritage as the nachri, stranger/non-Jew.” This, regrettably, is the gradual development of years of assimilation, years of lack of pride, years of attempting to fade into a society in which religion has no place and morals are obsolete. We might ask ourselves an accusing question: Are we that “later” generation?
One note that is worthy of consideration. Do parents have the license to rob their children of their heritage? Do they have the right, for reasons of their own, to prevent their children from learning about their religion – the religion for which so many Jews throughout the millenia have died? Children are a gift from the Almighty, the same One these parents have chosen to ignore. Having children is a privilege; raising them in accordance with their heritage is a responsibility.
