Mishmeres HaSholom: Ask the Rav

Q: My daughter, who is a high school student, shares her desk with a classmate who is in the habit of copying answers from my daughter’s test paper. Putting aside the issue of her friend’s cheating, my daughter cannot concentrate properly and it is causing her distress. Thus, I would like to request that the teacher switch my daughter’s seat.

Because my daughter is suffering, coupled with the fact that the girl’s cheating needs to be addressed, I assume that this is an instance of to’eles. May I put in a request for the change and, if so, can I be explicit about the reason?

A: You may request that the teacher change her seat, along with a minimal explanation, e.g., “Sometimes her seat mate cannot control herself from cheating, causing my daughter to lose her train of thought.”  Of course, the intention must be to’eles, with no other purpose in mind.

The following questions and answers were taken from the Mishmeres Hasholom pamphlet in Israel. For details and inquiries please e-mail us at office@hasholom.org or call 972-2 5379160.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hamodia.