Tools for inspiring our kids to stretch beyond their comfort zones and become givers. Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev tells the story of a man who dies and is shown both heaven and hell. In hell he sees everyone sitting together at a long table to eat their meal. However, the only utensil each person has to use is a spoon that is so long that it can't fit into the user's mouth. Everyone is starving.
Next stop is heaven.
But here everyone uses his long spoon to feed the person across from him. Hell is where people are self-absorbed. When everyone is looking out for each other, that's Heaven. Instilling the trait of kindness is one of the primary ways of being like God whose essence is giving. It's by no means easy teaching our children to get out of themselves, to rise above their own wants and needs that seem to be always of the utmost urgency.