Best to keep it vague. The extra 800 shekel came out to a pitiful per-hour rate, and it’s not like his base salary was any better

“SOhow’s the best couple doing?”

If Tziporah ever needed a cheerleader in her life, her older sister Dini was happy to fill the role. From her perch in Passaic, she offered Tziporah a steady stream of compliments, encouragement, and emotional support.

“We’re doing good, Dini, how are you?”

“Everything’s fine here, steady. Kids are okay in school, Shimmy okay at work, I’m getting used to the new job. Tell me about the great stuff you and your husband are doing for the yeshivah bochurim of Yerushalayim. I love hearing how my little sister is saving the world!”

Tziporah switched the phone to a headset and got busy folding laundry as she updated Dini on Benny’s newest promotion at Ner Olam. “Reb Motti and the rosh yeshivah must be happy with him, because they asked him to take over the Friday learning program. Friday’s a challenging day for these guys. They put in a long week, a lot of them aren’t used to such an intense learning schedule. So when Friday comes a lot of them just want to sleep in or go on trips. It’s really important to have a great program in place if you want them in the beis medrash.”

“Mmm, I hear that,” Dini said. “So they asked Benny to do it? So impressive!”

“Yeah.” Tziporah felt warm, proud. “Benny has all these ideas to make Fridays different and exciting. He’s starting a shnayim mikra incentive program, and a chazarah system for Gemara, with points. And iced coffee and rugelach every week. Then, at the end of the month, he’s going to take the guys who showed up on a great trip — hiking, barbecue, kumzitz, the works. He’s all pumped about it.”

“Wow, I love it,” Dini said. “They’re lucky to have him. I hope they’re paying him more for all the extra hours.”

“Yeah, they’re giving him some more,” Tziporah said.

Best to keep it vague. The extra 800 shekel came out to a pitiful per-hour rate, and it’s not like his base salary was any better.