Q:
What is your opinion of the importance of a high school taking their students on a trip to Niagara Falls?
A:
My opinion is that it’s nothing at all. You have to travel so far, and spend so much money to see Niagara Falls?!
Let’s say, here’s a frum girls’ school. So they have the day off, or the week off, whatever it is. And where do they go? To Niagara Falls. What’s in Niagara Falls?! A lot of water falling off a cliff. Nothing at all. Nothing at all!
It’s the yetzer harah. The yetzer harah makes everyone dissatisfied. People who are really happy with what they have are almost impossible to find. They may say, “We’re happy,” but they’re not. And therefore, they’re always seeking something else. And so, they travel to Niagara Falls. You might say differently, but I’m telling you, that’s the reason why people travel to Niagara Falls. It’s the yetzer harah that is making you dissatisfied. So you have to go to see water falling off a cliff. But really it’s nothing at all.
Of course, you yield a little bit to the yetzer harah in order that more girls should come to your school. You have an outing every year to get new talmidos, new students. But really it’s nothing at all.
TAPE # E-193 (June 1999)
