When Nobody is Looking

The streets of Yerushalayim were mostly empty. It was still dark outside, yet the birds had already begun to chirp cheerfully. A few men could be seen on their way to daven neitz. An early morning grocery delivery truck rumbled down the empty street.

A sign reading “Dudu’s Manor – Finest Baked Goods” lit up as former Israeli politician Dudu Manor stepped inside his bakery, yawning. Dudu turned on the ovens, pulled out the dough that the night shift had prepared a few hours earlier, and loaded the morning’s first loaves into the oven.

“Atchoo!” Dudu sneezed, not bothering to cover his face, the sneeze echoing in the empty bakery. He rolled some cinnamon buns and slid them into the oven alongside the bread. He continued his morning preparations and then cracked an egg for his breakfast.

Dudu set the small table in the kitchen, placing bread, eggs, butter, and the morning’s newspaper on the table.

“Government Corruption Task Force Itself Found to Be Corrupt,” the top headline screamed. “Voters Deserve Politicians Who Do Not Get Caught,” read another.

Dudu chuckled to himself. “Maybe I should run for office again,” he thought, taking a bite out of his roll.

Rav Volender walked into the kitchen, blinking at the blinding reflection of the rising sun on Dudu’s bald head.

“Dudu!” he exclaimed. “Eating without covering your head? Not making brachos?”

Dudu jumped up. “Ah kavod harav!” he exclaimed, quickly ripping off a piece of newspaper and putting it on his head. “I didn’t know you were coming to inspect the kashrut today.”

“That’s the point of my visits,” smiled Rav Volender, peeking around the kitchen and making sure everything looked kosher. “You’re not supposed to know when I’m coming.”

“Well you should at least knock,” Dudu grumbled.

“Dudu,” said Rav Volender. “Last week you told me you were going to be more serious about keeping mitzvos. What’s going on?”

“Kavod harav,” Dudu said earnestly. “I promise you. Ask anyone who works here and all of my customers, I am super religious now! I always wear a kippah during store hours, I make three brachot before every bite, and I even started saying Shabbat Shalom to customers as early as Wednesday night!”

Rav Volender made a mental note to have a separate discussion with Dudu about hilchos brachos at a later time.

“Dudu,” he said. “I just saw you eating without making a bracha and without covering your head.”

“Yes, rabbeinu, but that’s because the store is closed and nobody was looking.”

“I was looking.”

“But I didn’t know you were coming!”

Rav Volender frowned. “Dudu, do you know what a klalah is?”

“Kedushat romemuto!” Dudu gasped. “How could the rav say such a terrible word?”

“The Torah says that word,” Rav Volender said. “In this week’s parsha the Torah lists the curses given to people who do not listen to Hashem.”

“Oh,” Dudu said, relieved. “That’s why I keep these red strings in my pocket. My savta gave them to me to protect me from such things.”

“Red strings won’t protect you from the curses in the Torah,” said Rav Volender. “And something we see repeated in the klalos is the word ‘בַּסָּתֶר’ – in secret.”

“It’s an aveira to do something wrong when nobody sees?” asked Dudu, bewildered. “But who will know?”

“Hashem will know,” Rav Volender replied. “Hashem is always watching us. And when you do an aveira secretly it’s even worse because it means that you do not fear Hashem.”

Dudu thought about this. “Wow, Judaism is completely different from politics,” he said. “When I was a politician, it was okay to do things that were wrong as long as nobody saw.”

“No, it was not okay,” Rav Volender said forcefully. “It is never okay to do something wrong. ‘Wrong’ means that it’s not okay. Anything we do in private should be the same as if we were doing it in public.”

“But that means changing everything about who I am!” protested Dudu.

“Dudu, do you want to be a good person?” asked Rav Volender.

“I’ve never thought about that before,” Dudu responded.

“Never?” asked Rav Volender. “Maybe think about it now.”

Dudu sat quietly for a few minutes. “Harav,” he said. “I think I would like to try being a good person. How do I do that?”

“Two things,” Rav Volender said with a smile. “First, start thinking about Hashem when nobody is around and make brachos the same way you would when people are watching. And number two, how about we start learning a little Chovos Halevavos each time I come for a visit?”

Dudu smiled. “It’s a deal,” he said. “I can’t wait to start trying to be a good person.”

Have a Wonderful Shabbos!

Let’s review:

• Why do the klalos specifically mention “בַּסָּתֶר”?
• Do you make brachos when you’re by yourself the same way you do when you’re with people?