The Test In The Dining Room

From revach.net w/ permission:

Two boys arrived one day in Kol Torah in Yerushalayim to see the yeshiva and decide if it was appropriate for them. While they were standing around, the Mashgiach Rav Gedaliah Eiseman called over an older boy into his office. "It looks to me that these boys came to check out the Yeshiva. It makes sense also for the Yeshiva to check them out... Please go sit next to them in the dining room and watch how they eat."

The boy tried to get out of this uncomfortable mission and suggested that the place to watch them would be in the Bais Medrash, where the Mashgiach sits and does not need any help from others. However the Mashgiach was not buying it. "What interests me is to see how they eat... There is nothing telling about a boy who sits in Bais Medrash and learns. That is what he is supposed to be doing. A real live field test in the dining room, where you can see how he applies his learning is much more revealing.

In the halachos of Kiddush it says "Ein Kiddush Elah B'Makom Seudah." In order for Kiddush to take effect, it must be in the place where a person will eat his meal. In a play on words they say, "Ein Kiddush" a person cannot be proven Holy, "Elah B'Makom Seudah", only by his manner while eating and not necessarily in the Bais HaMedrash. There, many ugly and noble middos are easily observed.

לע"נ ר' יואל בן ר' פנחס הלוי