Don’t you admire those wonderful baalei chesed who think so creatively to alleviate others’ discomfort? Like the ones who set up a table in front of their home, on which stands a thermos of ice-cold water and cups, with a sign inviting any passerby to refresh themselves with a cold drink. We’ve always seen these wonderful stands, but never made use of them.
Until that Shabbos when the weather started rising above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. We were walking home from a simcha, and the walk was becoming just a bit too long for the children. They were kvetching and complaining about their feet, about the heat, about their thirst. They stopped to rest every few blocks – on a bench, on a ledge.
The Children Were So Excited
Then we saw one of those wonderful tables with cold water. The children were so excited – perhaps more so to press the button and see the water pour into the plastic cups than to have a cold drink! There was a garbage can standing a bit to the side of the table, obviously for throwing out used plastic cups. But we did not use the Eruv, and it would be impossible to throw the cups in the garbage.
We instructed the children to stand in one place, drink the water, and just place their used cups on the table. I can only imagine what the owners thought when they saw our used cups on the table.
“They couldn’t throw out their used cups in the garbage? We offer them free cold water and they leave such a mess in return?”
But on the other hand, people who are such baalei chessed must view life with a good eye, so I assume they probably figured out that we left the used cups on the table because we do not use the Eruv. I can only assume they thought that way, because I want to judge them favorably by assuming that they judged us favorably!
Reprinted from the Parshas Shoftim email of The Weekly Vort.
