Photo Friday (Vol. XIV) [Respect Repositories]

Not that there aren't still some very compelling photo requests still outstanding... but this week I'm going to invoke the well-known 'It's my ball so we'll play by my rules' rule and do something a little different.

Yesterday, while Zahava and I were waiting outside the Principal's office for our 'team meeting' to begin (let me tell you, I've logged some serious time outside of Principal's offices in my day) I noticed three seemingly unrelated 'repositories' and for no particular reason these three things suggested an interesting pattern to me.

The three 'repositories' were:

1.  A 'Geniza' - Which literally means 'A hiding place', but is actually a place where anything of religious significance that is no longer suitable for use is placed.  Old prayer books, discarded pages with G-d's name written on them, invalid mezzuzas, etc., are the kinds of things one would place in a Geniza.  Most religious schools and synagogues have a Geniza, and periodically the contents are taken out and buried in a designated spot in a Jewish cemetery.  Long-lost rulings of Jewish law and historically-significant documents have been unearthed when ancient Genizas have been discovered... with the Cairo Geniza being arguably the most famous.

2.  'Pniyat Talmidim L'Minahelet' - Which roughly translates as 'turning to/referring to the principal by the students.  This is a simple wooden box for students to leave private (even anonymous) messages for the Principal. I really like the idea that the students have this direct line of communication.

3.  'Solelot M'shumashot' (Used Battery Receptacle) - The most mundane of the three, but ironically the one that made me start thinking about the possible connection between all of these repositories. 

You see, all three were within a few feet of one another... each was designed to receive something specific... and each, in its own way, was designed to offer a measure of respect. 

The Geniza is designed to show the utmost respect to religious items that have outlived their practical usefulness.  Its presence at the school is a valuable lesson to the children about the difference between respectfully putting something aside and thoughtlessly discarding it.

The note box for students to communicate with their principal is a valuable tool which shows that the principal respects the student's thoughts and desires... and also that the students might be a bit awed by the principal (and would benefit from a respectful distance in their direct communications).

The used battery drop-off (and it's close proximity to the other two repositories) is a clear sign that the school and it's students respect the environment and believe that the end of something's useful life does not end our responsibility to it (or the world around us).

Patterns exist in everyday life, yet we rarely notice them.  This pattern seemed especially relevant to me and reinforced many of the things I love about the education my children are receiving here in Israel.

Shabbat Shalom!