Our feedback is separate, this time. First, a Reaction in
Rhyme - supporting, surprisingly, the anti-paper plate
approach.
Plastic - Far From Fantastic
by Rivka Tal
I know I'm in the minority,
A kind of old fashioned sorority,
I can't live down the notoriety,
But here is my soliloquy.
*
Don't put plastic over the table!
Use linen or cotton blend - whatever you're able!
Let plastic coverings become only fable,
Shabbos and Yom Tov are more stable.
*
Every Shabbos, 3 tablecloths to adorn.
Your mizbeach-table, will not look forlorn,
Spills, stains, laundry - do not mourn,
But sticky plastic we should scorn.
*
"Too expensive, too time consuming,"
You think it's too bemusing,
In honor of Shabbos, I'm assuming,
Priorities: Confusing?
*
Some women make gefilte fish every week,
Me? From a jar I `sneak'.
If not, the children ask, meek,
"The good kind of fish," they seek.
*
I hear you, dismayed, in the background,
"What about the laundry? It's already a mound!
To stand and iron, I am bound?"
Well, another solution, I have found.
*
Send the tablecloths out to the local dry clean,
Find a cheap one - but don't be mean.
Don't worry about expenses for the Shabbos Queen,
Your life will definitely not become lean.
[And the editor's compromise - blessed terylene.]
*
AND A LETTER FROM A READER IN BNEI BRAK, SAME SUBJECT:
(Referring to the Shabbos guilt complex issue, and the letter
from Parshas Korach)
Mother of Ten, Eight Boys, I loved your letter! It
should have been enlarged and written in red!
Your terrific attitude is not only for Erev Shabbos. All
those guilt feelings which mothers are dragging along with
them use up a lot of physical and emotional energy. This
energy should be used for something more productive.
I am a mother of nine ba'h, and when the day is over,
I make a quick mental review of it. I note to myself,
mentally, which child needed more attention, a compliment,
TLC (tender- loving-care) etc., and then, as we say in
Yiddish, veiter gegangen, onward! Tomorrow is another
day!
There are very few mistakes we make with our children that
are irreversible. Our children need happy, loving mothers who
sometimes do make mistakes, not guilt-ridden mothers who
cannot possibly be relaxed, happy and loving.
Remember the Mishna: The work is not yours to complete. You
can't and needn't do Everything. But neither are you absolved
of plugging away and trying to do your best. Just leave the
rest in the hands of Hashem.
And - don't forget to pray every day for a special dosage of
Heavenly assistance and moral support!
