Q&A: Bribing schoolchildren so they’ll recite Psalms?
Bribing schoolchildren so they’ll recite Psalms?
Question
With God’s help,
Hello Honored Rabbi,
Some of my relatives were offered something that sounds strange to me: they would donate a certain sum—not small at all, in my opinion; two days’ wages—and in return they would arrange for schoolchildren to recite Psalms for their success in various matters. They explained that you have to buy the children a “surprise bag” so they’ll cooperate, and apparently the money is used for that. Does the Rabbi know of any source for the “special value of Psalms” when recited by schoolchildren? And does it sound reasonable to train them through this kind of bribery?
Thank you.
Answer
There are such sources, but I don’t put much stock in them. Reciting Psalms is a shocking waste of time, for adults too and certainly for children. Instead, they should teach them Torah; that is far more beneficial.
But the whole issue of “bribery” is just demagoguery. People give children “bribes,” or positive reinforcement, in order to get them to do good things. That’s a common educational policy, and there isn’t a trace of bribery here.
Discussion on Answer
With God’s help, on the fourth day of repentance, may it be a year of great deeds
To K — greetings,
Perhaps your self-sacrifice, reciting Psalms until your strength was spent, is what brought salvation to the patient whom the doctors had given up on. After all, it is “measure for measure.” When a person rises above his natural limits and invests beyond his normal capacity, then the Holy One, blessed be He, also “goes beyond His measure” and brings salvation above nature.
With blessings for a good and blessed year, Ami’oz Yaron Shenitzl”r
I have no suggestions for situations like that. I certainly don’t know more than the doctors. If you think Psalms might help, then recite Psalms. I’ve said several times that this can’t be ruled out categorically.
Rabbi, what would you suggest doing in the dilemma where the doctors aren’t giving any chance beyond 24 hours?
I got dragged into reciting Psalms like that for over a week, until afterward I had no strength either to pray or to learn, other than watching nonsense.
By the way, in the end the patient recovered, thank God 🙂
(Meaning, each time they kept saying there wasn’t much time left, and they already wanted to give morphine but the family didn’t agree)