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Thought for the Day: A Public Thank You to Mrs. Adele Cherrick

I committed to one thought each day.  Sometimes the struggle is to find even one; Baruch HaShem, bli ayin hara, so far I have put in enough "y'gi'ya" each day that HaShem has granted a "m'tzi'ah".  Today the challenge was to pick which thought to share.  I made my decision by applying "derech eretz kadma latorah".  This morning, Mrs. Cherrick's younger son, R' Alfie Cherrick came over to me with his disarming smile and wished me a day of tremendous hatzlacha.  (R' Cherrick, by the way, is my role model for sincerity.)  I was tired this morning and just said thank you; usually I mutter something like "gam l'mar", but I forgot even that.  I saw R' Cherrick waiting (which is unusual) and finally remembered that it is only derech eretz to respond with a similar bracha.  I was embarrassed and so I added, "Its because your brachos are much more meaningful than mine."

R' Cherrick's response was classic.  "That's not the point," he said, "that's just the way klal yisrael talks to each other and in the merit of that we receive a shefa bracha from HaKadosh Baruch Hu."

That reminded me of the Shabbos after my second daughter got married.  All the kids were in New York, but Debbie and I needed to be back in Chicago.  We missed our children, but had such nachas that our children and their spouses decided to have Shabbos together.  Its one thing when they come to the parents, but it is a whole new level of nachas when they all spent Shabbos together just because they wanted to be together.

So I told R' Cherrick that it was worth getting up this morning just to hear that.  Now I am publicly thanking Mrs. Cherrick for bringing such fine bnei torah to Chicago.
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