Kol Nidre Appeal 2003 One Rosh Hashanah morning, the Rabbi ...

Hopefully, I can make my point by telling y’all a story – a TRUE story – which
involves one of our young adults; and exemplifies, to me, why Agudath Israel – Etz
Ahayem must continue to thrive.
This… KID, really… is known to many of you, having ‘come up’ in our Sunday
and Hebrew schools, and having celebrated some of the aforementioned life-cycle events
right here in this building. But, the episode I’m about to describe did not occur on these
premises. Rather the lessons learned from you were transported and implemented out
there, ‘in the REAL WORLD!’
At the time, this child was enrolled in a private school -- not exactly the
wellspring of diversity and tolerance, thereof. During, or prior to, class instruction, while
several students were engaged in shooting spitballs or tossing crumpled up pieces of
paper at one another, one boy was hit in the back of the head with one of these harmless
missiles. Well, this young man turned around and verbally attacked the young lady he
thought guilty, with a particularly loathsome racist remark -- referring to the color of her
skin and a certain anatomical feature. Needless to say, the horseplay came to an abrupt
end.
I suppose that it would natural – normal, really – to simply allow the matter to
pass -- Youthful impulsiveness, you know. Not so, for our Agudath-Etz child. This was
not about to slide – to be swept under the rug, as it were.
Later that evening, the young man guilty of the racist remark, received a phone
call from our student and another gutsy friend. In no uncertain terms, it was made clear
that that kind of bullshit was not going to happen at their school – not on their watch!!