The Boy Wonder and me

If ever I enjoyed doing a story more than my piece on the little Torah savant, Mishael Hibshoosh, well, I can’t think of one. (Read the story here.)

He may be a Torah-chanting expert. He may be a keeper of the flame for Yemenite Judaism. But to me, he is perhaps the most adorable child I’ve ever met (my own son, now 25, excluded).

The cover story details Mishael’s highly polished skills at layning  (or, chanting) Torah. It is indeed impressive. The kid isn’t shy, and he has a palpable self-confidence that allows him to do this grown-up task with ease.
Not to take anything away from Mishael or his abilities, but I have to say upon reflection that it shouldn’t surprise anyone that an 8-year-old boy could pull it off.
My own son, Aaron, when he was 6, could name ever dinosaur in the paleontological pantheon. The son of a good friend of mine, at the same age could detail all you’d ever want to know about air conditioning ducting.

Boys just like to master stuff.

I viewed Mishael’s mastery of Torah chanting somewhat along those lines. Unlike my son, however, who never needed to know the difference between a brontosaurus and triceratops again, Mishael will no doubt flower into a skilled and dedicated observant Jew when he grows up.

That is to say, he has mastered something useful.

I don’t often tape record interviews, but luckily my interview with Mishael was entirely caught on tape. Through the miracle of digital audio, we uploaded a few precious snippets of him on the j. Web site.

Check ‘em out and enjoy! As if I have to ask…

Hear Mishael chanting Torah:

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