Spurred on by Moshe's comment earlier today, I finally had my rite of passage. Yes, tonight there was some type of party going on at the neighbours behind me (the ones whose children shriek like they're being murdered, chasve shalom, all day long), complete with Israeli band. After an hour of having the windows closed, earplugs in, and fans running, and still feeling like my head was going to implode, enough was enough already.
So I called the local precinct.
They must have stopped by a few minutes ago because, while the noise is still at an uncomfortable level, it is better than it was earlier. I'm interested to see what happens after 10 PM.
I can't wait to get out of Brooklyn. I'm thinking Montana...wide open spaces...nobody around for kilometre after kilometre. Boy, am I ready for it!
How great is respecting your neighbor? How important is the value of their peace? Tonight my dear friend had to endure noise that was quite unneighborly to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAnd so to what extent must we love our friend's right to rest quietly, to sleep without disturbance?
The great Torah giant, the Chazon Ish, whose diligence in Torah study was well-renowned, had a young man as guest in his home. The guest bed was in the room where the Chazon Ish studied, and although the guest insisted that even ten lamps would not brother him, the Chazon Ish extinguished the lamp and went to sleep earlier than usual to enable the guest a good night sleep. The Chazon Ish sacrificed his Torah learning so as to let someone have a good night sleep" ) Biography of the Chazon Ish, p.86)
Once after attending a wedding that ended late, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter did not go home but instead rented a room. Why? He didn't have a key to his home with him and feared that if he knocked on his door, he might awaken some neighbors. (Tnuas Hamussar, vol. 1, p.353)
And why must we be considerate of our neighbor's rest? Because stealing sleep is a violation of a Torah law. It is stealing. It is robbery. It is an act of total disrespect.
Hence neighbors should keep the volume down in the evenings.
To those who are my countrymen we must be a Light of Love, Consideration and Refinement.
If one still needs an incentive, then consider how great is guarding the peace and quiet of our neighbor that the Chazon Ish placed it on a greater level than Torah study. Hence imagine the reward for such an easy deed as keeping the volume down in the evening.
Imagine