Will He Stay?

A student who had spent the day learning in our yeshiva in Israel, returned to his old yeshiva in a nearby city, saying that he'd think over the possibility of transferring to ours. His decision was in the affirmative, and after about a week he arrived to begin his studies with us.

The first morning in his new yeshiva did not look very promising, however, when he appeared about two hours late for the morning seder. From this it seemed that he was sorely lacking in the motivation and discipline necessary to success in the formidable challenge of learning gemara.

I was already mentally assigning him to the ranks of the well-meaning but under-motivated, when I heard someone say that our new friend was still suffering from jet lag after returning from the States. It seems that the week's delay in transferring to us was due to a quick trip home. So it was not laziness, but travel fatigue, that was the cause of his lateness. Fortunately, I now had the opportunity to revise my overly hasty assessment of this new student, and to give him the fair chance he deserved.

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