Not long after Father left, I stopped attending Chader. The reason? One Friday morning, when a review of the Cheemesh (a religious book -- a portion of which was studied weekly) was held, I was asked by the Rebbe (Hebrew teacher) to interpret a paragraph... My interpretation did not please him. That beast of a Rebbe physically punished me -- once too often -- to the delight of some of the other students. I ran out of the class and never returned to that or any other Chader again.
I [dawdled on the way] home in a confused state of mind... I was at a very low ebb. I entered our house with morbid thoughts. Instead of scolding me, Mother offered me some goodies she had baked for the Sabbath. With that bit of kindness and my newly acquired free time, I became mother's helper in many ways. Mother also had more free time. She was able to notice us more and became especially fond of sister Libby. She dressed her very attractively. At the age of five and a half years, Libby could recite Yiddish folklore verses and sing folklore songs, and did so to the delight of Mother and guests as well.
