Who doesn’t love student council election season? That time of year when we encourage our students to engage in bribery, false promises and corny slogans to win popularity contests. Forget middot, we have resumes to build! Anyway, this year’s election season at the International Place for Instruction in Torah and Yahadus (also known as I PITY, the School), was different than most; there was no competition for president. The race for the top job was a one-woman contest, with Stephanie Winter as the clear choice. Nobody even tried running against her, no matter how hard the teachers tried to convince them.
Dear Reader, what do you think made Stephanie the unanimous choice? You probably jumped to the wrong conclusions already. No, Stephanie was not the richest student in the school, the funniest, or the smartest. She was not the Queen Bee. Her classmates were not afraid she would ruin their lives if they ran against her, nor did they fear being beaten up (Stephanie was actually kind of small). Instead, Stephanie’s classmates simply felt she would do the best job by far.
The job of the student council president is to get stuff done. He or she represents the student body in front of the administration and tries to get decisions made in the students’ best interests. Stephanie was known for her abilities in this area. Who convinces teachers to extend deadlines? Stephanie does. Who gets Miss Martin to make her tests multiple choice? Stephanie does. Who gets Mister Gutenberg to give extra recess? Stephanie does. So, who was the best candidate to get stuff done? Stephanie was.
The fact that teachers attempted to get others to run just convinced students even further of Stephanie’s potential greatness. And so, in a landslide election (three students wrote in “Bea O’Problem”), Stephanie was named class president. The students rejoiced and immediately began imagining the possibilities. “No more homework!” “Permission to fire teachers we don’t like!” “Eighth grade trip to the moon!” Of course, none of these dreams ever came true, and the truth is, for the first few months of the year, Stephanie’s approval rating dropped sharply. The students at I PITY, the School saw absolutely no significant changes, and it was making them restless. Sure, there was better cereal at the Rosh Chodesh breakfasts and a canteen was set up, but where were the major improvements they all expected from Stephanie?
Early November brought the first full student council meeting. Three representatives each from grades five through eight joined Stephanie to discuss how they could work together to “get stuff done.” Two faculty members were also present, Rabbi Avi and Ms. Adams, to make sure things went smoothly. The senior eighth grade representative, Rebecca Springer, began the meeting saying what was on everyone’s mind. “Stephanie, you were chosen because the students think you can make major things happen. We all ran for council because we wanted to be on your team. Can we discuss making a few big changes this year?” Others nodded their heads and added similar comments before Stephanie began her response.
“First of all,” began Stephanie, “I did not make any promises about what I would do as president. I know what people expect of me, and I do think I’m the right girl for the job. However, I think y’all have the wrong idea. Do you really think I can get periods shortened to 33 minutes, allow UberEats to deliver to the school, or convince Dr. Shayes to get rid of the dress code? It would be rude of me just to suggest these changes; they affect so many parts of the school! Only those who are responsible for everything that goes on here can do that!”
As Stephanie made her point, looks of disappointment spread across the faces of almost all of the council members. Was this really the Stephanie they knew? What happened to the girl who could get a teacher to add ten points to her test with a simple raise of the eyebrows? Sensing the tension, Ms. Adams cleared her throat to speak. “Ladies and gentlemen, there is a big difference between changes that affect one person, one class, or one day, and those that affect everything.
Stephanie is right. If you try to make the changes you are suggesting, you won’t get anywhere.” Stephanie smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Adams. Guys, I have a really good idea. Do me a favor and listen, and if you don’t like it, I will resign my position.” Well, that got everyone’s attention. With that, Stephanie closed the lights, turned on the projector, and began her presentation.
Fast forward to May. Stephanie’s approval rating was way up again, and the students at I PITY, the School never seemed happier. What was the brilliant idea that made this happen? Stephanie and her council set up a system for students to make personal requests of teachers. Without getting into details, a website and app were set up so that students could let their teachers know if they needed extra time for an assignment, had trouble understanding a topic, or just felt that the class needed time to relax. Teachers loved this system because it gave them insight into how their students felt, and they could hear from them without the usual whiny voices. Students loved it because they finally felt (mostly) heard and (sort of) understood. It was a win-win!
Parshat Beha’alotecha includes an interesting pair of back-to-back stories. The Torah reports the story of Pesach Sheini, in which a group of people come to Moshe and say, “It’s not fair. Why should we not get to bring a Korban Pesach just because we were tamei?” To this, Hashem responds by agreeing to change the rules of Korban Pesach. He allows those who are tamei at the time to offer a Korban Pesach one month later, when they are pure. So Hashem not only permits Bnei Yisrael to petition for a change, He also grants it.
Right afterward, we are told about the decisions Hashem made regarding Bnei Yisrael’s travels. No matter how short or long of a period Hashem had Bnei Yisrael stay in one place, they never made a peep. The pasuk tells us seven times that Bnei Yisrael traveled and camped “al pi Hashem.” If they felt comfortable complaining about Korban Pesach, why not do the same about traveling?
One possibility is the difference between the requests. Korban Pesach is a mitzvah for everyone, but each person has his or her own personal requirement to be part of one. The request for change was therefore a personal one, even though it affected all of Bnei Yisrael. Additionally, allowing for Pesach Sheini doesn’t really change much else; nobody is permitted to purposely miss the first one anyhow. However, Hashem’s plan for Bnei Yisrael traveling involves certain experiences that He willed all of Bnei Yisrael to undergo. Therefore, to change one stop might have changed Bnei Yisrael’s entire Midbar experience. For this, Bnei Yisrael had nothing to say.
We all have our personal feelings about rules we have to follow and tasks we have to perform. Sometimes, our personal feelings are important enough to change some of these responsibilities. But our personal feelings are not the entire story. Those with greater responsibilities to their community, family, school or other institution can see the bigger picture and know when certain changes are not for the best. May Hashem grant us the wisdom to know the difference.
Yair Daar is the middle school dean of students at Yeshivat He’Atid. He can be reached at [email protected].
