Got Milk?

This is a true story told to me by Rav Chaim Wasserman, now of Jerusalem. I may not remember the details correctly, but the story speaks for itself.

There was a man who worked at a Yeshiva in America. He used to bring his own milk with him for his coffee and such, and it kept disappearing. He thought maybe people thought it was supplied by the school, so he put notes on it saying it was private property. It still kept disappearing. So he upgraded the notes to say he did not give anyone r'shut (permission) to take it. It still kept disappearing. Then he changed the notes to say that taking the milk was g'neiva (theft). It still kept disappearing. Finally, he put a new note on that said, "Not Chalav Yisrael." His milk was left alone.

Did you laugh? Did you cry? Do I need to say anything more? Apparently I do; I'm willing to bet more of you laughed than cried, and most everyone shrugged it off as an unfortunate situation...but nothing more.

This is one very small example of the deep problems we have WITHIN the frum community that are the source of all our suffering. Far too many people will kill themselves to be machmir on mitzvot bein adam laMakom (between man and God); but bien adam lachavero? The way you treat your neighbor? Who cares? Either he is frum like you, in which case he will say T'filat Zaka before Yom Kippur. In that prayer, among other things, he forgives anyone who has wronged him in the past year, so you're ok. Or else he is an eirev rav and not really Jewish, so we can do whatever we want to him anyway.

I learned many years ago from Rabbi Binyamin Blech, that when the non-Jew came to Shammai and Hillel asking to learn the Torah while standing on one foot, he was really asking, which leg of Torah is more important, our relations with Hashem or with our fellow humans? Shammai would not answer, but Hillel answered, "That which is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor." The golden rule in it's original form. Bein Adam Lachavero is the essence of Torah. (Not that you can stand on one leg all your life, which is why Hillel told him to go out and learn the rest.)

That non-Jew converted because of Hillel. The whole world doesn't need to become Jewish, but if we can honestly demonstrate in our lives the same dedication to Mitzvot Bein Adam Lachavero, we can teach them all to recognize Hashem, which is as much a part of bringing the Mashiach as our own redemption.