Which adult doesn’t enjoy a well-earned nap on Shabbos afternoon... and which child does enjoy such a respite?! In one shul in Yerushalayim, a few very well meaning individuals arranged a Chevras Tehillim for children during the long hours of Shabbos afternoon. Ah, what bliss! Both parents and children were delighted! And, anyone passing the shul during the appointed hours, could only marvel at hearing the sweet roar of the holy words of Dovid HaMelech emanating from the pure throats of the tinokos shel beis rabban.
However, as children will be children, upon leaving the premises they constantly left behind their childish ‘signatures’; crumpled tablecloths, uneven rows of tables, chairs strewn everywhere, and... the ubiquitous snack wrappers. It took just a few concerted moments for the gabbai to straighten out the shul before mincha, but the wrappers lying around and stuffed in nooks and crannies, presented an absolute nuisance for the good fellow. What was to be done?
Eventually, the gabbai asked the organizers to come and speak to the great posek, Rav Yosef Lieberman ztl (d. 2022 ) who would surely advise them sagely. “It was very unclean in the Beis HaMikdash, too.” he said. “It was praiseworthy for the Kohanim to walk in blood up to their ankles. [Pesachim 65b] From here we can derive that it is a wonderful thing for the Beis HaMikdash to be messy – from the waste caused by the Avoda. So too, if the Mikdash Me’at is messy [from time to time] from the Avoda performed there, let it continue. The main thing here is that the children be permitted to chant the holy words of Tehillim without hindrance.” [Source: Yosef Eved Hashem p81]
Dedicated anonymously for yeshuos and refuos to all Klal Yisroel
