This week in Israel we read the Parsha of Kedoshim. The Parsha contains a number of commandments which relate to how we treat other people. Although it is sometimes more natural to speak and treat strangers, friends and co-workers in a respectful and dignified manner, in many cases we seem to forget to act in the same way to those closest to us, to our parents, children, siblings and spouses.

There is a fascinating story that was related by Rabbi Elimelech Biderman about a very poor family that lived in New York in the early 1900's. The family was religious and they were faced with many hardships in America during those times. The family was so destitute that they could barely afford food and each week every family member would get a slice of cake for the Shabbas night meal and another slice for the Shabbas day meal. The family had two children, a boy who was 12 years old and a girl that was 5 and 1/2. When Pesach came around the family gathered for the Seder and the father began to relate the story of the exodus from Egypt. When he finished the young boy who was very studious wanted to share some of his Torah insights as well. The boy was already very well versed in many areas of Torah and his younger sister had tremendous respect for him. When the boy finished sharing his thoughts the young daughter also began to speak. She related how much respect and honor she had for her older brother who was dedicated to the study of Torah. She said that she has a gift that she wants to give her brother. Everyone looked at each other because the family had no money. How could she possibly have a gift for her brother? She left the room and returned with a plate that contained a few pieces of cake. She explained that each week she would save some of her cake so she could give it to her brother. No remember this was a very religious family and it was Passover. The daughter just brought out a plate filled with chametz which would probably make many people faint! The father exclaimed to his daughter that it was such a wonderful gesture on her part and that he was overwhelmed with the love of Torah she showed by giving such a gift to her brother. The father then began to calmly explain that it was chametz while continuing to praise her love for Torah. The father took a bowl and placed it over the chametz as prescribed by Jewish Law, as he continued to praise his daughter. He then turned to her and blessed her that she would one day merit to marry a tremendous Torah scholar. That young girl was none other than the wife of Rav Moshe Feintstien, who was the preeminent Torah scholar of the last generation.

There are many things we can learn from this story but I think most importantly is how the father reacted. We all have our situations of "Chametz on Pesach", situations where we could explode, lose our cool and lash out. But there is no doubt that the father's proper reaction was very instrumental in his daughter's future development.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath