The menahel of the yeshivah called me and informed that he had the unenviable task of suspending the fourth-grader. Although it wasn’t school policy for the principal to call me every time a boy was suspended this time was different.

Reuvain and his family had moved from Eretz Yisrael. The yeshivah claimed all of the classes were full and they couldn’t squeeze even one more desk into the already overcrowded classroom.

I called the menahel and begged him to accept Reuvain. In desperation I offered to pay Reuvain’s tuition if the menahel would just give him a chance. It worked.

Reuvain did well. He’d acclimated to Americaand was learning well. I was therefore very surprised when the call came from the menahel.

“Thank you for calling; can you please tell me what he did?”

“Yes of course. The rebbi had just finished teaching the boys about the importance of talmud Torah. He told the boys there is nothing that takes precedence over the study of Torah. The boys went home for Shabbos armed with the newfound knowledge that Torah is more precious than pearls.

“As the boys filed into the classroom on Sunday the first question the rebbi asked them was ‘Kinderlach now that you read your parents the dvar Torah about the importance of talmud Torah; can someone tell me what is the most precious of all the mitzvos?’

“Reuvain’s little hand shot up.

“The rebbi smiled and said ‘Reuvain please tell us what is the most precious of all the mitzvos?’

“Without hesitation Reuvain gave a silly nonsensical answer said with the clear intent to disturb and disrupt the classroom. The answer was so absurd and inappropriate that the rebbi’s face turned red and the boys in the class burst out in gales of laughter.

“The rebbi instructed Reuvain to come to my office and that’s when I called you to inform you of the suspension.”

I listened intently to the menahel and asked but one question. “Can I speak to Reuvain before the decree is finalized?”

The menahel agreed and soon Reuvain was sitting in my office.

“Reuvain the menahel informs me that you disturbed the class today by answering a serious question with a silly answer. Is that true?”

Reuvain shook his head.

“I answered the question in a truthful way” Reuvain said with total sincerity.

“Reuvain please tell me your side of the story.”

“The rebbi said that Torah is the most important thing in the world” Reuvain told me “and nothing should be pushed aside for Torah. He said that everyone is quiet when Torah is spoken.

“On Shabbos at lunch after we made hamotzi I took out my parshah sheet and I started to read it to my father. However after I read a few lines I got stuck on one of the words. ‘Abba can you help me with this word?’ I asked. But he didn’t answer me. I looked up and saw that my father was only paying attention to his plate of chopped liver. He was giving his chopped liver so much attention that he hadn’t heard one word of my dvar Torah.

“I put my dvar Torah away and the meal continued.

“On Sunday when I came to yeshivah the rebbi asked us again ‘Boys is there anything more important than Torah?’

“I raised my hand and said ‘Yes this Shabbos I learned that there is something more important than Torah.’

“ ‘And what is that?’ asked my rebbi.

“ ‘Chopped liver’ I told him.

“I wasn’t trying to disturb the class; I promise I wasn’t.”

The speech of a child is ‘heard’ from either his mother or his father (Succah 56b).