Solve A Mystery

After gradating from Law School, it is necessary to successfully complete a variety of procedures before being sworn in and permitted to practice law. The first requirement is to take and pass a bar examination given once a year. I took the examination and believe I may be the only applicant who knows how it feels to have both failed and passed the first time taken. Was it a mystery and if so, how was it solved?

    After the examination had been taken, results would not be made public for several months and when it would occur, it would be printed in newspapers in alphabetical order.  Ultimately, I found out the date that would occur. When I placed it in my calendar, I noted that day was Yom Kippur, a day the two candy stores in my neighborhood would be closed and newspapers not available. Not wanting to wait another day, I telephoned the Herald Tribune that was still in existence, explained why I was calling and would they be so kind to tell me if the name Benjamin M. Haber is listed with those persons who passed the bar examination.  I was told to hold on and she would let me know. Several minutes later the person  got back on the telephone and told me she was sorry to say, there were no H’s on the passing list.

    Suffice it to say, I was very disappointed and knew I would have to wait another year before taking the next examination. In the interim, I wold be  living with a failure. It turned out I did not need to hire Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery described above. A few hours after my call to the Herald Tribune, I received a call from Everett Rosenblum a class mate with whom I became very friendly.  Everett said, “Congratulations, we both passed the examination.”  I replied, “No way!” and told him what I had been told by the Herald Tribune.  He replied he was looking at the list in The New York Times and my name was on the list.  When I finally received a copy of the Herald Tribune and examined the list, the person I had spoken to was correct when she said there were no H’s on the list.  I knew as a lawyer it would be necessary to be very careful  and seek all the evidence. So, I ran my finger down the list and when I came to the Z’s , LO and BEHOLD,  after the Z’s, there appeared the H’s  (an unusual mistake for the newspaper) which included Benjamin M. Haber. When I occasionally tell people how I could, I feel to both pass and fail, could they solve the mystery, most cannot. Could those who read this story, before reaching the second paragraph, have solved the mystery?

Ben Haber

July 2020