“Yitzy,” said Mr. Greenbaum. “You must change your attitude and be more responsible. I can’t change your attitude, but I can help you spend more time learning.”

Yitzy felt like he wanted to scream. Oh no! he thought himself. This Mishnayos contest has caused me so many problems. All my friends are bothering me about it, and now my old neighbor is going to start bothering me too?

“Um… What do you mean, Mr. Greenbaum?” he asked nervously.

“I mean,” said the old man, “that I am going to have to make sure you learn every day.”

Yitzy’s eyes bulged. Did Mr. Greenbaum plan on forcing him to study?

Mr. Greenbaum didn’t wait for Yitzy to respond. “Why don’t you and I learn together, Yitzy?” he asked. “Wouldn’t that be a great idea?”

Yitzy wanted to say no. He did not think that spending time learning with Mr. Greenbaum was a good idea. He didn’t want to spend any extra time learning at all. Certainly not with his grumpy old neighbor.

He looked up at Mr. Greenbaum’s face. The old man looked very excited about his idea. Yitzy did not have the heart to say no to him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe,” was all he could manage.

“Good,” answered Mr. Greenbaum. “I’m going to knock on your door right now and speak to your mother about it.”

Yitzy sighed sadly as he followed the old man into the building. I don’t believe this, he thought to himself. I really wish Mr. Greenbaum would leave me alone. This Mishnayos competition is really ruining my life.

Yitzy had never seen Mr. Greenbaum walk so fast. He marched quickly up to the Levinson’s apartment door and rang the bell.

Suddenly, it occurred to Yitzy that he had not told either of his parents about the Mishnayos competition. His mother was going to have no idea what Mr. Greenbaum was talking about. She would probably be upset that he had not told her about it. Yitzy groaned softly and put his hands over his face. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

The door to his apartment swung open and there stood Mrs. Levinson, holding a crying two-year-old under each arm. She looked very surprised to find Mr. Greenbaum standing at her front door. The Levinsons had lived in this building for many years, and the old man had never rung their bell, even once, before.

“Hello, Mr. Greenbaum,” she said politely. Then she noticed her son standing beside Mr. Greenbaum.

“And hello Yitzy,” she added, in a surprised voice.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 745)