About those conspiracy theories…

When I was in my third year of Hebrew school, the rabbi asked to see me after class. I wasn’t that good a student in my normal English grammar school and I’m afraid I was that much worse when reading right to left instead of left to right — so I figured I was in some kind of trouble.

I knocked on the rabbi’s door after class and heard him say, “come in, and please close the door.” Fortunately, he said al that in English.

I entered, closed the door and he told me sit in the chair in front of his desk.

“Son,” he began (no one ever called me Son so I figured it was Hebrew and had some other translation). “Son, each year I ask one person and one person only from the third grade to see me on a very important and confidential matter.”

OK, he may as well have been speaking Hebrew now because I had no idea what he was talking about. So, I said, “yes, sir?” (“Yes, sir” seemed to be the thing to say and is understood in all languages.)

“Son,” he continued, “one of the reasons I chose you for this discussion is that I’m told by your teachers and friends that you are bright, even if you don’t demonstrate that in Hebrew school, and can keep something secret when asked and, while you can’t speak much Hebrew, which is another discussion, we have an important assignment for you.”

Totally confused especially wondering who the “we” was (or were), I deferred to what seemed to be working … “yes, sir?” I said.