Shalom.
Question: Why?
Answer: There's no good reason. So a kid goes to camp, all frum and chassidish and doing everything his mommy wishes he would. There he meets his counselor and learning teacher, the guys that are going to bring him even closer to his Father in Heaven. So they tell him go wash for Hamotzie for lunch and get on line for a roll. So Kid says "Um, I'm not allowed to that. I need to have bread right away." So counselor says, "Oh, don't try acting so frum." So in the morning Kid is davening and Counselor says "Be ready to start in three minutes." So Kid says "I need to say a bunch of stuff and I can't be ready in three minutes." So Counselor says, "well if you're not ready you're in trouble." (These are not their real names).
Where do we draw the line? Of course a camp or yeshiva needs to have structure, and you can't allow every "Kid" to make his own schedule or rules. On the other paw, today we need to appreciate every drop of frumkeit that a Kid shows or has, and cherish it. And what if Kid says or thinks: "If my counselor tells me to get in line and wait five minutes between washing and having hamotzie, then my father/teacher/friend who told me that I'm not allowed to do that must be wrong. What else is he wrong about....?"
Or better, Kid knows he's right, and knows that you can't skip korbonos, or Tanya, etc. And so when Learning Teacher tells him to, he doesn't listen. So he also stops listening to LT's classes. You can't expect me to learn a maamar from you at 7:30 in the morning, and then at 8:30 tell me to skip some parts davening.
This wasn't an attack. This was a question. What is the answer?
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6 comments:
It's a good question. Lefi anias daati, the main thing is for people to have a mashpia who can help them negotiate the rocky path that is life. Everyone faces these challenges at one time or another. Sometimes the answer is to stand strong, like when it comes to Chalav Yisrael, and sometimes it's to give in, for example Davening. Is it realy necessary for a person to not Daven with a Minyan in order to finish Korbanos? It's a tough question, one for a Mashpia.
As for "the drop of frumkeit". It takes a smart person to be able to judge this. If a kid does something because he thinks it makes him more frum, even though he's going against Shulchan Oruch, should we encourage him? Not every Hergesh is necessarily a good one. Again, the need for a Mashpia.
And what's the answer? This has been going on since the beginning of time. I don't think there is an answer. All we got is life, which may actually be an answer, I guess.
As I a currently the Head Counselor for a major frum camp in Miami I can understand very well what your writing. He try very hard to follow halacha in camp. For example I used to stand on the table to make announcements and one day during the first week a kid came over to me and say why are you standing on the mizbach. So from that point on we got a chair. On the other hand we have kids who come to came saying we davened at home this morning which I dont belive them for a second so I make them daven a "second" time. Its very hard for camps as no child is the same and a structure must be made.
Cool Jew, that is truly cool. Camp should have a policy that says you MAY NOT daven at home. Period. Just like camps have a rule that you must have hamotzi in your lunch.
Re: standing on tables - great point. Every single head counselor stands on the tables!
I think that basic halacha needs to be enforced with the staff. And if a camper/student points out a problem in halacha he should be commended!
How refreshing to read this.
As a camper and as a counselor, I thought I was the only one disturbed by the above-mentioned scenarios.
I think counselors ought to be extremely careful with what they tell their campers and even more so, how they do it.
Maybe the counselor's right and in this case, a certain something is permitted that b'derech klal is not. So if he explains that to the kid, instead of just waving him off, a lot could be bettered.
Also, counselors have to be reminded (hc's also) about what the ikkar is. It's easy to forget.
Lastly, the "(These are not their real names)" line made me laugh :)
I don't see any issue in the first place. No counsellor should tell a child to compromise on halacha or a minhag that the child already follows. Their whole purpose is to increase the child's yiras Shomayim, not the opposite, ch"v. So if that's sometimes inconvenient, nu. Don't reject the ikar because of a tofeil or tofeil de'tofeil.
We agree entirely. except the part where you wrote "I don't see any issue in the first place."
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