I once read a story abt. 2 chavrusa's learning Gemara in a Yeshiva in Europe, we'll call them Shmuel and Dovid. It was hot and they were tired. Dovid was getting progressively annoyed with his life and not finding sufficient satisfaction in his learning. Shmuel said "לימא מתניתין דלא כבן ננס" [let us say that our Mishna doesn't follow Ben Nanas]. Dovid screamed "WHO CARES if the Mishna follows Ben Nanas!!! Why does it matter???!!" He then stormed out. Never to be seen again.
So went the story.
Fast forward to decades later. There is a faaaaaaaanccccyyyy dinner at a posh hotel on behalf of a certain Yeshiva. Shmuel who had remained in the Beis Medrash and witnessed his chavrusa's outburst was sitting at the head table. He was the Rosh Yeshiva. Around him were hundreds of his devoted Talmidim.
An older waiter, with tired eyes, who did not have an easy life, came around to fill everybody's water glass. He was about to fill the Rosh Yeshiva's glass and their eyes locked. The waiter said with sadness "I guess it DOES matter whether the Mishna follows Ben Nanas...."
Moral: When we are young, we don't always appreciate things of eternal value. No matter how old you are - LEARN!!! A lot! When you are old, you won't be like the countless elderly people who are bored out of their brains. Others only find meaning in their grandchildren. They have no lives of their own [to the point that some grandparents say that they would rather die of Corona and be allowed to be with their grandchildren than stay alive and be separated from then]. Others watch endless TV or surf the Internet, aimlessly seeking a diversion from their boredom as they wait to die. Or you can be like those retired people who immensely enjoy every day which are filled with Torah and Tefillah. The more you learn now, the more you develop in learning - the more you will enjoy the learning when you get old. You will see that in fact, it means a LOT to you personally if the Mishna follows Ben Nanas....
