I hope this message finds you all well and enjoying a meaningful and rejuvenating summer.
Yesterday evening, around 6:30 PM, I took my children to enjoy the Sports Complex here in Lakewood—a beautiful public park that provides a much-needed space for relaxation and recreation. While the park was empty of people at that moment, it was unfortunately not empty of litter.
Scattered across the grass, benches, and playground equipment were cups, spoons, snack wrappers, and sticky residue—most of it clearly from a large group that had recently visited. It appeared to be a group of at least 50 children, likely from one of our local camps or schools.
While we were disappointed, especially as it made it difficult for my children to enjoy the park, we chose to clean up what we could.
Rabbosai, this is an opportunity to strengthen the beautiful values we already work so hard to instill in our children—derech eretz, kavod habriyos and responsibility.
Public spaces are shared spaces. When we visit them, we represent not only ourselves but our families, schools, communities—and ultimately, Hashem. Leaving a park clean, or even cleaner than we found it, is a simple and powerful way to make a Kiddush Hashem.
Garbage cans were available and accessible, so the solution is truly just a small shift in awareness. I’ve seen firsthand how impactful it is when a Rebbe or teacher personally picks up litter or encourages students to do so. These small acts leave lasting impressions and mold future leaders.
Let’s encourage our talmidim, talmidos, and campers to be proud ambassadors of Yiddishkeit—not just in how we learn and daven, but in how we care for our surroundings and respect communal spaces.
Wishing you all a safe, healthy, and uplifting summer.
TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected]
Whi is this letter not addressed to parents as well????? It is absolutely 1000% the parents job to teach their children that garbage belongs in a garbage can……of course those arranging the trip to a park should make sure they leave the place clean….Hey…maybe their parents never taugh them….
It’s worse than that. I was at an amusement park and one of the workers said don’t throw trash on the ground in my town cuz I don’t feel trash on the ground in your town.
My daughter is a counselor at Chavivos Day Camp. The campers made an effort to clean up the park before leaving yet some wrappers and litter remained. WHen the buses arrived for pickup, one of the drivers, who is jewish, offered to return later to allow additional time for a thorough cleanup of the park. A few counselors and campers stayed behind to ensure the park was completely cleaned. What a kidush Hashem!
kiddush Hashem for cleaning up after one’s own mess? Seems like a low bar.
Yes! It’s such an easy way to prevent a chillul Hashem & show respect for the beautiful spaces we all enjoy.
Of course I agree with the writer 100%. Who wouldn’t? I would like to add that this doesn’t only occur in parks. I live on a corner of a busy intersection. I find litter blown against my fence all the time. Unfortunately, the litter is usually packaging of kosher snacks. Even worse than that, I find this litter in my yard, which means people threw the litter over my fence deliberately! I live near the lake and find litter on the beautiful paths around the lake also. Besides for being a Chillul Hashem, it’s disgusting to think that people can be so messy and uncaring about their own surroundings. We must do better!
Don’t be so sure. A little of it is wind blown. You’d be surprised
Wow very true. A little awareness can make the world of a difference. Remember – we have a responsibility to make a Kiddush Hashem wherever we go.
Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention.
Exactly! This is the parents’ job!
It’s the parents job to instill these lessons, but it is also the responsibility of Rebbeim, teachers, daycare staff or anyone else bringing a group of children to a public place.
Something changed since I was a kid.
On school and camp trips it was strongly emphasized to make a kiddush Hashem and clean up after ourselves.
On chol hamoed, our parents made a big deal about being respectful and not making a mess. (I do the same with my kids)
I don’t know what changed that made it difficult to teach these messages, but it does seem that the lesson is not being learned.
Sometimes I wonder if the fact that littering fines were actually a threat back then (and were a much bigger proportional portion of disposable income that they are today) is a contributing factor, but I’d like to think more highly of those who raised me.
I have a bus stop in front of my home. I find plates, half eaten sandwiches, hot cups and other garbage on the floor. When the bus comes, the kids drop their leftovers and garbage on the floor and go on the bus. Parents, if you send your kids out to the bus stop with breakfast, please ask them what they do with the garbage?
I have noticed many times that non-Jewish workers that come to do work at a school or they work in the kitchen, they take sometimes a bag of nosh and by the way, some of the schools give them permission to take one bag of nosh and I am sure that some of these workers may chose to eat his or her nosh after work. We truly can not say 100 % for sure that every wrapper on the floor definitely came from a Jewish person. Some of these workers may help themselves to more than one bag because nosh is inexpensive and they are not causing a big loss to the school.
Unfortunately a person can step foot into a public school yard and into a Jewish school yard they will likely not find anything in the public school yard. In all honesty I’m not quite sure why principals are allowing children to eat outside altogether it’s brought down that we are not supposed to eat like the dogs. Growing up we had snack time for 10 minutes and then recess it was from a hashkafa approach as well as a safety approach.
My parents raised me strict and to be very clean that’s including putting garbage in the garbage can I ate breakfast in my house before going to school