"More importantly, inside that building is a precious diamond, worth much more than the building itself”

Yitzy stared at the large yellow envelope in Mr. Blum’s hand. He almost stopped breathing as Mr. Blum opened the envelope and took out Mr. Greenbaum’s letter. Mr. Blum held up the letter, cleared his throat loudly, and began to read.

“If my attorney, Mr. Blum, is reading you this letter, it means that Yitzy has won the Mishnayos competition, and has not gotten a hundred on his math test.”

Wow! Yitzy thought to himself. I don’t believe it. Mr. Greenbaum actually thought that I could win the competition all along.

“Yes,” continued the lawyer, “I’m sure that right now, Yitzy is feeling very surprised that I believed he could win the competition.”

Yitzy’s eyes bulged. It sounded as if Mr. Greenbaum’s letter was reading his mind.

Mr. Blum continued reading.

“The answer is yes. From my first conversation with you, Yitzy, I saw that you had tremendous potential. I saw that if you really wanted to, you could be the best student in your entire class. You just weren’t motivated. You said you were allergic to hard work, but you were just being a little lazy. I wanted you to live up to your potential. That’s why I thought up the idea of this contest, with my building being the prize.”

Mr. Blum paused to clean his glasses, giving everyone else a chance to absorb what they had just heard.

“So,” he continued reading, “I am happy that you have proven me right, Yitzy. I’m sure that your parents are very proud of you as well.”

Yitzy looked up at his parents. They both smiled warmly at him, and nodded their heads.

Mr. Blum continued reading.

“If this letter is being read, then it means that although Yitzy won the competition, he did not get 100 on his math test. This means that my building will be given to my dear nephew, Joseph, or should I say, Yosef Burtman.”

Mr. Burtman smiled.

“I hope you will enjoy the building, dear nephew. It is a very valuable building, but I want you to know what the most valuable part of the building really is.”

Mr. Burtman suddenly leaned forward and sat at the edge of his seat.

“The building is worth at least a million dollars, if not more. However, more importantly, inside that building is a precious diamond, worth much more than the building itself.”

All eyes in the room turned to Mr. Burtman who was in a state of shock.

Once again, Mr. Blum cleared his throat loudly, and went back to reading the letter.

“The diamond I am speaking of,” he continued, “is the Levinson family.”

Rabbi and Mrs. Levinson both blushed. “Yes, dear nephew,” the lawyer went on, “I want you to enjoy the building. I hope you choose to live in it yourself, and while you do, I hope you choose to be a regular guest at the Shabbos table of this wonderful family. I’m sure they will invite you, and I’m sure you will not regret accepting their invitation.”

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 774)