Our child prodigy sat assuredly as the names of the various awards were called

The eight-year-old boy sat confidently in his seat. He knew he would win the most coveted prize: a pair of Radio Shack walkie-talkies.

His camp rebbi, Rav Moshe Chaim, had made memorizing yedios klalios the focus of the summer’s learning program. The boys were encouraged to learn by heart the names of all 24 seforim of Tanach, as well as the names of Shishah Sidrei Mishnah. Our young friend had not only mastered all of that, but he had even memorized the names of all 63 masechtos of Mishnayos!

Therefore, our child prodigy sat assuredly as the names of the various awards were called.

Rav Moshe Chaim took the microphone and added a cursory caveat: The grand prize would be awarded not just for excellence in yedios klalios, but also for exemplary middos tovos.

Our protagonist never digested these words as thoughts of Radio Shack walkie-talkies danced in his mind.

“The winner is….”

Our boy-wonder was beginning to stand when, as if in a trance, he heard another name being called, and he saw another boy walk to the stage and take hold of his walkie-talkies.

He sank back in his seat, hands hiding his tear-filled eyes as he reeled in utter disbelief at this horrific miscarriage of justice.

Suddenly, he realized he was not alone. Someone had sat next to him and placed his arm around our disappointed friend’s shoulder.

With much love, Rav Moshe Chaim said, “I know you’re disappointed. But you could have done even better in middos and overall behavior. It would not have been fair to award you the prize. One day, you’ll appreciate that you have potential for greatness, and maybe you’ll even thank me for this.”

At that moment, though, our friend could only see someone else walking off with his walkie-talkies.

Fast-forward 20 years. Many years of learning Torah have almost erased the memory of the walkie-talkies from the mind of our now-married kollel fellow. He is spending Shabbos 3,000 miles away from home, a guest in a shul he has never been to.

His ears perk up when he hears, “Ya’amod Moshe Chaim ben Avraham.”

In an instant, our protagonist is transported back two decades, and he is reliving the camp banquet. The walkie-talkies are front and center in his mind, and there is his former nemesis standing just a few feet away, walking toward the bimah to receive his aliyah.

When Moshe Chaim heads back to his seat afterward, he suddenly turns and makes a beeline for our hero and places his arm around his shoulder. Before anything is said, tears begin to flow as our friend recalls the same embrace over twenty years earlier.

He looks at Rav Moshe Chaim and says, “I was planning on telling you I’m mochel you. But now I realize I must thank you. You may have deprived me of the walkie-talkies, but you gave me something much more precious. You showed me that you cared about me and believed in me.”

Twenty-five years later, our story continues.

The camp is running a reunion, and our friend is asked to share one memory; he chooses the story of the walkie-talkies. The clip is forwarded around, and eventually Moshe Chaim sees it as well.

A day later, our friend notices a package on his porch. The attached note reads: “You are truly deserving of these now.”

If you ever happen to be in Far Rockaway, stop by the White Shul and say hello to Rabbi Eytan Feiner.

And don’t forget to notice the brand-new walkie-talkies, proudly displayed on his bookshelf.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1099)