Yoni's teacher was droning on. It was a bright spring afternoon, and through the window Yoni could see the large school playground, with inviting tennis courts in the distance. For the twenty-fifth time that lesson, Yoni looked at his watch.
Suddenly, for some reason, he began to listen to what the History teacher, Mr. Cohen, was saying.
"The class system means that people think about themselves and about other people in different ways. Some people see themselves as being in a higher class. They look at others as being in a lower class. So the nobility thought that it was the higher class, and looked down on the people who worked the land."
"Sir, Sir!" Yoni found himself calling out, with his hand up.
Mr. Cohen looked at Yoni with some surprise. Yoni had never asked a question before in a history lesson, since the beginning of term. Mr. Cohen sighed.
"Yoni, you can go at the end of the lesson. The bell is going soon", he said.
"No, Sir, I've got a question!" said Yoni.
Other boys in the class looked at him with curiosity. Alan Sherman, who always came top in history, was particularly interested. He sat at the front of the class and now he turned round to look at Yoni, whose desk was at the back near the window. Yoni felt himself going red. "Surely, surely." he stuttered.
"Yes, Yoni, surely what?", said Mr. Cohen, kindly.
"Surely everyone is important?" said Yoni.
Mr. Cohen beamed. It was a wonderful question, and it was being asked by a wonderful pupil. "Does anyone have a good answer to that?" he asked, turning to the rest of the class.
They all seemed a bit taken aback. Not so much by the question, of course everyone is important, but more by the fact that Yoni was asking it. Alan Sherman was trying to think of something clever to say. Something that would show he really understands.
Roger Apple put up his hand. He was a new boy who had recently joined the class from another school.
"I think it says something about this in the Parsha," he said. "G-d chooses two people to head the building of the Tabernacle, his Sanctuary, where the Jews would worship Him while they were in the desert. He chooses Betzalel, from the tribe of Judah, the greatest of the twelve tribes, the tribe of King David, and also He chooses Oholiav, from the tribe of Dan, one of the lowliest of the tribes. This shows us that although there may be differences between people, in fact, before G-d everyone is equal."
"Yes," said the teacher. "And sometimes, the person you think is the most insignificant, in fact is very special and holy. Like the story of the boy playing a flute as a prayer, which was very precious to G-d, more than the prayer of the man who thought he was so important."
Yoni smiled. That made sense. For a moment his eyes met those of Alan Sherman. The two boys, who normally did not even notice each other's existence, smiled at each other across the class. Everyone is important...
