Overheard at the Shabbos Table

Note: My next posting will continue Rav Yisrael’s Salatners 13 Midos- #3

During Shabbos lunch the conversation turned to local day camps. When asked how camp was going, one child commented that things were good, but their seemed to be rivalry between the boys what attend one day school and boys from another day school. The source of the rivalry centered around haskafa, learning, and mitzvah obeservance. Several people, inlcuding myself, commented that it’s ashame this has to happen during the Three Weeks. The camp director, as reported by campers at the table, also made a similar comment to the entire camp.

My wife, in her infnite wisdom, said, “Why shoud we only be sensitive to this during the Three Weeks?”

10 thoughts on “Overheard at the Shabbos Table

  1. A Frum Idealist

    although what your wife is saying is very true. Sometimes it’s better to start small.
    It’s brought down that even if someone is not makpid on chalav and pas yisrael the entire year, they should try to do so during the aseres yemai teshuva. Why? Hashem knows your intentions and knows that immediately after Yom Kippur, you will go back to chalav and pas stam.
    The answers is that you have to start small. Even taking on that small chumra for ten days elevates you and makes you into a different person.
    It’s the same with the three weeks. Ha’lvai we should be good and conscious of these things the entire year, but if we start with the three weeks and build on that. How wonderful a thing.
    Especially now with what’s going on in Eretz Yisrael, we need to do our part. We need to elevate ourselves and a result slowly elevate all of klal yisrael.

    Reply
  2. Rafi G

    your wife is 100% right. All the lashon hara conferences are always in the 3 weeks and all the talk about “ve’ahavta lerayacha..” is always in the three weeks. The rest of the year we happily take each other to task with no limits

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  3. FrumGirl

    Well, camp is camp… thats what you do there – you compete. Its all about winning. I suppose along with that competition should come some learning about how its a friendly competition, etc. And yes, you have a very smart wife 🙂

    Reply
  4. zev ashkanazy

    Frum Idealist wrote:
    ___________________________
    It’s brought down that even if someone is not makpid on chalav and pas yisrael the entire year, they should try to do so during the aseres yemai teshuva
    ______________________________
    I find it interesting that while the topic at hand was proper Bain Adam L’chaveiro issues, you chose to bring in a “chumra” which is a Bain Adam LaMakom issue. I think that is exactly what the problem between the boys was. The boys from the more Machmir school picking on the boys from the less Machmir school for not being as good as them.

    Reply
  5. Pragmatician

    Right she is, rivalry is unhealthy, it would be wiser for the boys to look at the strong points of the kids from the other school and learn from them and vice versa.

    Reply
  6. Neil Harris

    Zev said:”the topic at hand was proper Bain Adam L’chaveiro issues, you chose to bring in a “chumra” which is a Bain Adam LaMakom issue.”

    I was told by a talmud of Rav Hutner’s that one Rosh Hashanah in Chaim Berlin, right before shofar blowing by Mussar, Rav Hutner asked a bachur to go check on someone in the dorms who was sick. After davening the bachur came up and asked the Rosh Yeshiva if hearing Shofar was d’Rabbanan? Rav Hutner answered that, “don’t you think on Rosh Hashanah, bein adam l’chavero is just as important as bein adam l’makom?

    If you really view each person as a neshama, as part of Hashem, then bein adam l’chavero becomes bein adam l’makom.

    Reply

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