The Donnenberg family looked at the beds in Regal Fine Furniture. “Totty!” said Chesky. “Look! This bed has a steering wheel! Can I get this one?”
“But Chesky, you don’t know how to drive,” said Raizy.
“I don’t think the steering wheel works,” said Hindy.
“But then the bed will crash!” said Nechy.
“Chas veshalom!” said Raizy, startled.
“I still want a bed with a steering wheel,” Chesky insisted.
“No, Chesky,” said Totty. “We are getting these regular beds over here. You’ll have to close your eyes and imagine that your bed has a steering wheel.”
“But I always do that,” Chesky replied. “But if I have a bed with a steering wheel when we move to Fat Man Island, then I will make a lot of friends in my new school because they will all want to come over and drive my bed.”
“It’s Staten Island, Chesky,” said Totty. “And I’m sure you’ll make many friends when we move, even if you have a bed without a steering wheel.”
The Donnenbergs made their way to the checkout counter and Totty paid for the furniture for their new home. Then they went outside to wait for Mommy to pick them up.
It was loud and noisy on New Utrecht Avenue. There was a lot of traffic and honking, and every few minutes a train passed overhead with a thunderous sound.
“It’s so loud!” complained Raizy.
“I can’t wait until we move to Staten Island,” Hindy said. “It’s so much quieter there.”
“Kinderlach,” said Totty. “It’s true that Staten Island is a lot quieter than Boro Park, but there is a big advantage of standing here on this noisy street.”
“What?” asked Nechy, her hands over her ears as another train approached.
Totty smiled as he waited for the train to pass. “I said that standing in a noisy place is a good opportunity for us.”
“Why?” asked Hindy.
“I like the noise,” said Chesky. “Trains make me smile.”
“When was the last time you screamed to Hashem?” Totty asked.
“I don’t think I ever screamed to Hashem,” said Hindy.
“Mommy doesn’t like when we scream,” said Raizy.
“That’s right, Raizy” said Totty. And it is usually not a good idea to scream. It bothers people, and if you scream to Hashem in shul, people might think you’re crazy.
“But right here on New Utrecht Avenue, when a train goes by nobody can hear you scream. But Hashem can. And that means it is a good opportunity to scream out to Hashem. We all have things we daven for. But how often do you get to scream?
“In this week’s Parsha it says ‘Vanitzaak’ - The Yidden in Mitzrayim cried out to Hashem. There is a certain special power to screaming out to Hashem for the things you so badly want. So why don’t we try it? When the next train passes, let us all cry out to Hashem.”
Soon enough, another train came by.
“Ribono Shel Olam!” Totty screamed. “Please give me hatzlocha with my new job as a rebbe in the cheder!”
“Please Hashem! Make sure there are good books to read in my new school!” yelled Hindy.
“Hashem! Please don’t let them have trains near our new house!” cried Nechy.
“Oy oy oy Hashem!” belted Chesky. “Please help me make a lot of friends!”
“Shem! Don’t let Chesky crash his bed!” howled Raizy.
Everyone stopped yelling as the train passed.
“That was beautiful, kinderlach!” said Totty. “Oh look, there’s Mommy!”
Mommy pulled up in the minivan and everyone got in.
“Mommy, we screamed!” said Raizy.
“You did?” asked Mommy.
“Yeah we screamed to a shem!”
“That’s beautiful!” Mommy replied.
“Kinderlach,” Totty said. “This shouldn’t be a one- time thing. Any time you’re somewhere where there is a lot of noise, use that opportunity to cry out with your tefillos.”
“Totty,” said Hindy. “Can you please put on the new Jimmy Newbrush song?”
“Really?” Totty said, surprised. “I thought you said that song was too noisy.”
“It is,” grinned Hindy. “But I want to scream to Hashem again.”
Have a Wonderful Shabbos
Let’s review:
- When is the best time to scream to Hashem?
- When might it be better to daven quietly?
