By Rabbi Yechiel Spero
It was the third day of Elul zman, the start of a new year, when the boys were still on their best behavior. The Gemaros were brand-new, the notebooks fresh and appealing. The attitude of "anything can happen this year if I put my best foot forward" permeated the atmosphere.
That morning, something caught the eye of R’ Lieberson, the menahel. Motti, a fine boy, already in eleventh grade, walked down the halls wearing a yarmulke that was completely out of dress code. The boys were expected to wear a black velvet yarmulke. It was standard and no one ever veered from it. But this yarmulke was bright, unusual, and drew undue attention.
R’ Lieberson was nonplussed. This wasn’t Motti’s style at all. He wondered if something had happened over the summer that caused Motti to start heading in a different direction. Should R’ Lieberson say something? Or would it be better to wait and see? After some thought, he decided to hold back. If Motti wore the same yarmulke the next day, the menahel would address it then.
The following morning, Motti came in wearing his regular black velvet yarmulke. R’ Lieberson went over to him, and, with a smile, said, “I like your yarmulke today,” adding with a wink, “It’s an improvement over yesterday’s.”
Motti grinned. “Rebbi, I want to tell you what happened.”
Yesterday, one of the boys came to yeshivah by mistake wearing the yarmulke he uses for sleeping, his “shluff kappel.” He was so embarrassed. Seeing how mortified he was, I told him, “Don’t worry, we’ll switch. You wear mine, and I’ll wear yours.” At first, he was hesitant, but when he saw I was sincere, he took me up on my offer and was extremely relieved. It was like the weight of the world was taken off of his shoulders. And I was happy to do it.
R’ Lieberson felt a wave of admiration. Motti hadn’t just done something harmless; he had done something beautiful. He had taken another boy’s embarrassment onto his own head. Literally. How often do we think we know exactly what we’re looking at, only to find out later that the truth is completely different!
We see a student yawning in class and assume he’s bored, when really he was up late helping care for a younger sibling. We notice a neighbor avoiding eye contact and think he’s unfriendly, when he’s simply going through a hard time. We pass someone in shul still wearing weekday clothes on Friday night and judge, not realizing he’s coming straight from the hospital. Life is full of moments where what seems wrong at first is actually something very right.
Reprinted from the Parshas Ki Sisa 5786 email of At the ArtScroll Shabbos Table. Excerpted from the new ArtScroll book – “The Story Begins...” by Rabbi Yechiel Spero.
