What's so great about Children?

B"H

The love the Lubavitcher Rebbe had for children was legendary. In his
eyes the holiest members of the Jewish people were our youth. Whenever
a young boy or girl waved to the Rebbe, his face would light up
immediately and return the wave.
The Rebbe spoke and wrote countless times about the power of a child's
simple prayer or thought, emphasizing the importance of every Jewish
child's action-more important than the most venerable Rabbi could hope
to achieve.

What is it about children that we love so much? Sure they're cute, and
ask funny questions, grinning from ear to ear without their 2 front
teeth.
But if we look a little bit deeper, what essential value do young
children have compared to their elders? Why should children be valued
more than a teenager or adult in any way? Shouldn't it be the
opposite, considering the fact that the older a person gets, the more
he has worked on himself to realize what is truly meaningful &
worthwhile in life? A child has never really faced the world or
thought about what is truly important...

The Rebbe explains that a father loves a son naturally, and his young
son loves his father by his very nature too. Why? Because that's just
the way it is. The son comes from his father's essence (as explained
in the Chassidic works) and both feel an essential bond for that very
reason.
What happens though when the son grows older? Both the son and his
father begin to feel love for each other based on reason and
understanding also. I love my father because he does so much for me
and really cares, and there's even a commandment in the Torah to
respect my parents. I love my son because he's so warm and smart, with
a great smile and he treats his sister so nicely. Of course each loves
one another intrinsically still for no reason at all, but now this
love is more hidden by the love based on reason.
The source for this relationship between father and son, Kabbalah
explains, stems from G-d's Intrinsic Love for the Jewish People. "You
are children to the L-rd your G-d." (Devarim 14:1) When Yisrael was
a youth did I Love him, and from Egypt I called forth my child."
(Hoshea 11:1) "The children I have raised and exalted." (Yeshayahu
1:2) These are a few of the many places in scripture where we see this
loving relationship expressed. Sure we have to serve G-d through
prayer and Torah study, meditating upon His Blessed Greatness which is
beyond our wildest imaginations, growing continuously in our efforts
to reach closer to our King.
But the simple, intrinsic bond between father and son, rooted in that
of G-d and His People, must be forever cherished.

Shabbat Shalom
-Daniel