The Torah commands us, “I have placed life and death before you… therefore, choose life, so that you and your offspring may live” (Devarim 30:19). But why does our choice affect our children? Don’t they have to choose for themselves?
Our actions do more than shape our own lives—they teach the next generation what is worth choosing. A person can observe Torah and mitzvot while treating them as an unpleasant burden. If children constantly hear, “It’s so hard to be a Jew,” they may come to view Judaism as something to endure rather than something to embrace.
But when parents practice Torah with joy, pride, and genuine commitment, they communicate something very different: This is what gives my life meaning.
Perhaps this is part of what the Torah means by “choose life… so that you and your offspring may live.” Choosing life means not only living a Torah life ourselves, but living it in a way that inspires the next generation to choose it too.