When our neighborhoods are clean and orderly, people will conclude that there is cleanliness and order within our homes. When our homes, our lawns, and ourselves appear well-maintained, we radiate the self-respect and pride that contribute to kiddush Hashem.
In the summer, in particular, we spend a good deal of time in full view of the outside world. As the nation that reflects Hashem’s royalty, we must take care to dress and act with dignity in order to preserve His honor. With our large families and camps, this means that we must take care to clean up after any visit to a park, a store, or any other public area.
A cashier at a 7-Eleven convenience store once asked a bachur, “Are you part of the religious school across the street?” When the boy replied that he was, the cashier smiled. “I like the boys from that school,” he said. “They never leave a mess behind. Whenever they spill a drink, they make sure to clean up after themselves. They are the only boys who do that!”
We may not be accustomed to devoting much attention to externals; the emphasis of our lives tends to be on the purity of our neshamos and creating a beautiful home for our souls in the Next World. But it is important to pay attention to externals in this world as well, both for their effects on others and because of their impact on ourselves.
Reproduced from A Life Worth Living by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
