Lakewood School Crisis

We all know that the situation with children not being accepted into schools is getting worse and worse each year. I myself know of many children who still are not in schools or were forced to go to school out of town. This is a terrible situation for us as a community and may be a cause of chillul Hashem against Lakewood Ir HaTorah. Some people like to blame the schools or the “system” but the truth is it is really our own faults. I have heard so many times that a reason a child was not accepted to school was because some parents called the schools and said, “If so and so is accepted I don’t want to send to your school.” You would think that parents that are so concerned about the ruchnius of their children would not be so ready to pass judgment and speak loshon horah about other people in their community.In Sefer Chofetz Chaim it states that there are seven very specific conditions that must be met before a person can speak loshon horah l’toeles. If everyone would learn these halochos they would see that what they are doing is against halacha and not based on Torah values. Ultimately their actions may be destroying the neshomo of an innocent child and causing undue harm to an entire family (and the whole community). The schools are then forced to bend to the demands of the people that pay their tuition! I have also heard about good intentioned people who will call a school on behalf of a child and they will hear, “Why should WE be the ones forced to accept this child, let them go elsewhere.” If we would hear our children behaving this way; kvetching, “why should I have to share, or help,” what would tell them? Hopefully we would say, “Our way is to be mevatar, you have a chance to do a mitzvah, you be the big one!” We are all adults, not petty children and Hashem loves each and every one of us. Klal Yisroel is made up of many different types of people and all of our children deserve a chance. We CAN do something about this terrible situation by being more open-minded and non-judgmental, being dan lakaf zchus and having more ahavas chinum. Lets abolish this blatant loshon horah and sinaas chinam and in that zchus may we see Mashiach very soon!

Mrs. S. Langert