One hot summer day, Mrs. Schechter received a phone call. Who was on the other line? The principal of her son’s school. She was curious as to what the call was about, and asked the principal why he was calling.
“You’ve saved me,” the principal answered, “and I’m calling to be makir tov.”
Saved the principal? she thought. What did I do to save him? I haven’t even met him, let alone ‘save’ him. What could he be referring to?
The principal went on to explain how the yeshiva had planned a class trip. The boys put in a full years’ worth of learning, and as a result, the school was treating them to a kayaking trip in the north of Israel. The plan was to leave Bnei Brak by bus, travel two hours to the kayaking spot, stay there for some time, and then return. Before booking, they contacted the beach where they were to go kayaking to ensure that no one other than their yeshiva would be there, and they were assured so.
Well, after traveling the whole two hours, the buses pulled in and saw numerous other buses also parked in its parking lot. In a bit of a shock, the principal instructed the boys to wait on the bus while he made his way to the office to settle the issue. As he passed the waterpark in route to the office, he saw that the place had “more lukshin than soup”; the place was loaded with people. He realized that there was no way the park would empty itself for these Bnei Brak boys who wanted to swim.
He tried his luck, by demanding their reservations, but as expected, his words fell on deaf ears. The staff were unreceptive to him. Unsure how to break the news to the eager boys, the principal headed back to the buses with the disappointing news.
The boys knew right away what was going on when they saw the principal’s face as he returned to the bus. His eyes scanned their faces, and seeing their disappointment bothered him immensely. They had been learning so hard and so well all year, and they had been anticipating this trip for some time, - and even drove all the way here. He didn’t know what to do.
“Thinking over how to proceed, I was asked by your two boys if they could get on the microphone. Unsure what they were planning to say, I thought to myself, ‘what can I lose? We’re already at such a loss...’
Eighth-grade Shlomy got on the microphone and said, “Boys! I’d like to tell you two things!” Expecting something exciting everyone tuned in.
“One, think about the kiddush Hashem we just made. In that office, they must be talking how a group of boys from Bnei Brak are going to return home with another two-hour exhausting bus ride because they are unwilling to compromise on their modesty. Had this been a non-religious group, they would have taken the principal and sent him head-first to the water(!). No other school would just walk away from their disappointment like that. But us, who are dedicated to Hashem and his mitzvos, are returning without doubt or questions.
“Second, and this is much more than the first one, think about what Hashem is doing now in Shamayim. I am sure that He is gathering His Malachim and telling them how His beloved children are so devoted to Him.
“After traveling two hours on a hot summer day, they’re willingly returning due to their dedication to Me. They are forgoing their boating all so as not to compromise on guarding their eyes.
“How can we be sad?” continued Shlomy. “We should be delighted about how we were able to bring such immeasurable happiness and joy to Hashem! We should be dancing uncontrollably! Let’s all stand up and start dancing: ‘Ashreinu mah tov chelkeinu...”’
Within one minute, the atmosphere on the bus changed. It changed from Tishah B’av to Simchas Torah. The boys were standing on the bus, singing and dancing. Within a short amount of time, the dancing went out of control. They were jumping as if they’d won the world’s lottery!
When we got back to Bnei Brak, I asked your sons where they got this mindset — to sing while giving Hashem nachas? They responded with a story that took place two weeks prior.
“We headed to a park in the south,” explained Shlomy. “It was three o’clock in the afternoon, and suntan was evident on all our faces. Perspiration was dripping down from our foreheads, and we were all drained from the heat.
“Our mother decided to buy us refreshing ice pops. While we were opening the packages, one of my older siblings noticed how there was no hechsher on the wrappers. Since we’d already opened them, there was no chance that the shop would take them back, but we went to see if there were any other items that could quench our thirst. But, no. There were no alternatives.
“We took the ice pops, threw them into the trash, and left the booth emptyhanded, without anything to cool our hot bodies and thirsty throats.”
“Seeing the disappointment on our faces, she thought to herself: ‘What should I do to lift their spirits?’ On the spot, she decided to bring the family to the nearby woods and explain to them how Hashem must be shepping unimaginable nachas from our mesiras nefesh. Hashem must love what we have done for Him, and He must be enjoying it. She turned to the family and questioned them: “Isn’t this a reason that we should dance?”
And they all agreed.
“As a family, we broke into a beautiful uplifting dance, envisioning how Hashem has such nachas from what we have done.
(However, the second story doesn’t end there. A few days past, while they were outside, a neighbor asked their young four-year-old if she wanted a lollypop, to which she replied in the positive. After she got it, she thanked them and went running to her and asked what brachah should she make on it: Shehakol or Ashreinu?” That’s how much of an impact it left on the four-year-old.)
Seeing this is what gave the child that recognition and appreciation for responsibility keeping to Hashem’s mitzvos, and showing the school its value.
With that the principal concluded that I’m calling to thank you for saving me, and you see for yourself how far your influence has gone. Thank you! (L’romeim, p. 82)
No matter how hard the mitzvah is, Hashem loves it. Whether it’s easy or hard, it is loved by Hashem. Yet, when it comes with a struggle and we must be mechazek to overcome it, its valued much more by Hashem.
