Do Rebbeim have to pay for the School Dinner?

What is it that makes someone a gadol hador? Brilliant intellect? Sterling upbringing? The finest yeshivos? While all these things certainly help, the one thing you hear about every gadol is not how much torah he learnt but what a mench he was, what ahavas yisroel he had, what care for a fellow person he imbued. Rav Moshe Feinstein was one who defined this middah, and while there are countless stories told about his care and compassion I would like to, in typical HalachaBoy fashion, prove it from a Halacha. A school director once posed this shayla to Rav Moshe- Every year we have our school dinner, and parents of the children pay lots of money to come and mingle with their children's Rebbes and Morahs. However, the Rebbes and Morahs have no interest in going. As the director of the yeshiva can I force these Rebbes and Morahs to come? Rav Moshe answers that the director can demand they show up, however he can not force them to pay for the event. Of course, if the Rebbes and Morahs want to eat they must pay, but if they are not going to eat they are not required to pay. There is one prerequisite to this though, says Rav Moshe, if the parents will see the Rebbes and Morahs are not eating and come to think the food is traif- the Rebbes and Morahs are required to eat- however, they are only responsible to pay a normal fair dinner value, not the exorbitant fancy deluxe gala value. What I found most interesting about this response, however, is the introduction. In the first paragraph Rav Moshe apologizes profusely to the director for not answering his question sooner. In fact, Rav Moshe says, "I didn't get your letter till after the scheduled date of the dinner, however, I feel responsible to reply none the less. Because this question could come up again and I don't want you to be required to write me again." Had I found a dusty unopened letter I would have opened it, read the question, realized the date had passed, figured the guy doesn't need an answer and gone on with my life. But, a gadol hador doesn't do that: Rav Moshe took the time to answer a question which potentially had no ramification anymore, because it might have some importance in the future. And the gadol hador, one of the busiest men around, didn't want to bother the director to pick up his pen and write again. That is ahavas yisroel, that is caring for another. Not to extend my halacha boundaries but Moshe Rabenu in this weeks parsha does the same thing. Jews sin with the golden calf, Moshe goes up to Hashem and says "Either accept their teshuva or wipe me from Your book" It's about caring for another and being willing to go the extra mile. It's an easy lesson but a hard one to master. From Moshe to Moshe no one was as great as Moshe. Have a good shabbas