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And G-d Saves Us From Their Hands As anti-Semitism spreads around the world with devastating fury, we must strengthen our faith and trust in Hashem and realize that it's a time for us to mendour ways and increase our prayers for His mercy. Throughout all ages our enemies have done all they could to destroy our nation, yet they have been unsuccessful. From the Inquisition of Spain, to the gas ovens of Auschwitz, our enemies have done everything possible to wipe us out as a nation, but Hashem hasalways come to our rescue. While we have suffered a long dark bitter golus,we have emerged stronger than ever before. Who would have believed that just 60 years after we lost more than six million of our brothers in the Holocaust, Torah would be flourishing on American soil? One of the things that we must surely improve is our brotherly love for every Jew, since it was this particular sin that caused the destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdosh. " Love others as much as you do yourself is thefundamental pillar of the entire Torah," says Rabbi Akiva, yet we still see far too much hatred amongst our own Jewish brothers. The 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died when they didn't heed his advice and they did not respect one another properly. Even when one disagrees with others, it must be done with respect. The halacha follows Bais Hillel because they always would explain the ruling of the Bais Shamai before their own. While some schools do a magnificent job of teaching their students proper middos and derech eretz, others barely touch the subject. We recognize, however, that if we want to correct some of the faults and failures of today's society, we must begin from the bottom up. Once a tree is fully grown, it is impossible to straighten it out. Only while it's still young and fresh can it easily be bent into shape. We all complain when we are cut off in line or someone double-parks his car in front of ours, or when someone uses improper language, yet we must realize that if we want our children and students to be different, we must put as much emphasis on good middos as we do on scholastic achievement. Only then will we meet withsuccess. We must insist that our students display good manners in the way they walk and the way they talk, in the way they dress and the way they act. Being polite and greeting people with a friendly smile, a "Good morning" or a "Please" and "Thank you" doesn't cost a dime, but is worth its weight in gold. The best text for teaching this is Pirkei Avos, whose principles were handed downto Moshe directly from Sinai. It contains all the basic middos one must know. Let'sremember that Torah and Derech Eretz complement each other, as it says "Im einderech eretz ein T orah," and "Im ein Torah ein derech eretz."Let's also remember that developing good middos is not the exclusive obligationof the school, but must be strongly reinforced in the home. It's a two-way street! Only when our students see that the home and school have the very same goals will it leave an indelible impression on them. However, when they see inconsistencies and that what they learn in one place is contradicted by the other, then whatever one tries to teach them will be to no avail. If we want to make improvements, then the time to start is now! |
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