I had lunch with a princess

Recently, I had the good fortune of having lunch with a princess.  What struck me most about her was not her beauty or her wonderful sense of style, rather her dazzling heart and genuine love and concern for her fellow man.

She spoke of a man she knew who was very ill and wondered what she can do to cheer him up. She watched me as cut with a sharp knife and cautioned that I be careful so as not to cut myself. It wasn’t so much what she said as it was the way she said it. With that look on her face saying she really was worried that I may bleed myself and that she really was pained by the man’s illness.

And I took note.

Now, she wasn’t Princess Catherine of Wales or Princess Letizia of Spain, or another princess you may have heard about or read up on in the papers, but a princess nonetheless.  A Jewish princess. Our daughter Moussia.

This may seem like an anti climax to you, but it isn’t. If G-d, the king of the world is our father, then we are all his princes and princesses. While the glitz and glamour of being the child of a king may seem attractive it’s not easy. It comes with plenty responsibility as well.

Just ask Kate and Letizia.

Everything is calculated and carefully rehearsed. There is a way to speak, a way to dress, a way to walk, even the way to wave.

The current of news coming out of Israel lately has been quite upsetting.  People claiming to be sanctifying G-d with their despicable behavior and sheer arrogance but truly shaming Him and mocking Him instead.

They have brought religious Jews to the forefront of the news – a place we are never comfortable being and brought divisiveness and animosity from Jews on the inside as well as non Jews on the outside – as if there weren’t enough.

Their behavior is inexcusable. Spitting at children, no matter their age or what they are wearing is simply unacceptable and telling people where they can or cannot sit on a public bus is just wrong.  It’s one thing to decide to be a certain way yourself, but when it comes to others it’s an entirely different story.

But most of all, as children of the king there are expectations of us. We are watched with a magnifying glass. Paparazzi are always around ready with their cameras, waiting for us to trip or fall to get that great picture to showcase to the world.

Sure, every princess has a bad day, I’m sure. But we must make sure to always look our best and smile for the camera. That’s just what princesses have to do, even if they don’t feel like it.

Being camera ready is about loving our fellow man/woman with every fiber of our being to the extent that externalities don’t matter. That ourselves don’t matter in the face of another’s well being. That another’s pain and suffering have a real effect on us that our own self righteousness is just that when it comes to hurting another’s feelings.

To be truly religious is to behave as a prince so that others can point and identify that there goes royalty.

Of course I can have and have had many lunches with my magnificent daughter. The good fortune I had the other day however, was recognizing and appreciating the princess in her. Even more, helping her to recognize it as well.