An example of this can be found regarding the chumra of 'cholov yisroel' -
Jewish milk. (There is a basic law that we are only permitted to drink milk
that was produced under Jewish supervision, lest non-kosher milk was added.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein issued a p'sak (decision) that, in America this is
not considered a problem because of government regulations. This issue is a
little more complex than that but for simplicities sake we'll leave it
there. Rabbi Feinstein states that it is nevertheless praiseworthy to only
drink cholov yisroel.) Rabbi Feinstein states in Igros Moshe that schools
should provide cholov yisroel for the students (when easily available)
because we should educate our children on the importance of chumros. When I
saw this, what immediately struck my mind is that if you don't teach the
children that it's a chumro, but tell them that it's the basic halacha
(which unfortunately happens), then you might as well serve them ordinary
milk because you missed the whole point.>>
This is in reply to Lazer Abrahamson concerning cholov yisroel. I am no
scholar. I am a Lubavitcher who has only lived out of New York City since
I've started keeping cholov yisroel. My understanding was that Reb Moshe
stated that ONLY in America is one able to rely on government-inspected
milk, and only if it is prohibitively expensive and very difficult to
obtain. Here in Albany, we get cholov yisroel milk every week, as well as
yogurt, cottage cheese, and hard cheeses. It is more expensive, but since
we eat only cholov yisroel, we don't spend our money on many other
products. The Lubavitcher Rebbe stated many times that the spiritual
benefits of cholov yisroel far outweigh any disadvantages. There is a
story of a family whose son started rebelling against the mitzvos, and the
Rebbe told them to find out if the boy had eaten any non-cholov yisroel
food. They were certain that he had not, since they were very careful with
it. However, after looking into the matter further, they learned that a
babysitter had indeed given the boy some non-cholov yisroel. I know it's
not convenient to keep cholov yisroel when you live in a small town, but in
Brooklyn or Monsey, there is little excuse. Our neshamos need it.
Shayna Kudan