“There are good heads behind those incredibly long tshups and small yarmulkes — but they don’t do anything”

D

ovid wasn’t happy. After 40 years of marriage, you can know these things without a word passing between you.

He walked heavily up the walkway as she dropped the curtain and moved away from the window. He wouldn’t like being spied on.

“How are you?” she smiled as he entered, and settled at the table, a sure sign that she wanted to talk. Grunting, he dropped into a chair.

“How was the Goulash and G-d event?” she asked, purposely getting it wrong.

He snorted. “It was Cholent and Chumash and the event was fine. Yonah was good with them, strumming his guitar and singing, but honestly, I find it wasteful.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “They threw out a lot of cholent at the end?” She was pretty sure she was missing something.

He waved a hand. “Nah, they scraped everything down to the bowl. It’s more the boys themselves… they’re sweet and earnest and they really think — there are good heads behind those incredibly long tshups and small yarmulkes — but they don’t do anything. It all boils down to… nothingness.

“They leave glued to the same phone they were on when they got there, scrolling and smirking at the screen. I don’t know how to make a difference or even how to know if I did. With bikur cholim, you know, for a fact, that you’ve enriched someone’s life. They get to the doctor they need, or enjoyed three delicious Shabbos seudos even while in ICU. Here…” he trailed off and sighed.

She felt for him. She’d seen enough to know that today’s youth were facing a challenge like never experienced before, what with phones and addictions and social media.