Od Alos Hashachar...

I really try not to brag but I am making an exception this time. Shavuos is usually very hard for me. When I was younger I used to just go to sleep. As I got older I started making an effort to stay up. But anybody who knows my ADDish, ants in my pants antics, knows that I can't sit for very long. If I am lucky, the night goes something like this. One hour of learning then fifteen minutes of hanging out in the hall and inhaling caffeine. One more hour of learning followed by another quarter hour of cake consuming and soda guzzling. And so the night goes. This year, for the first time ever, I went straight through without stopping. I did get up once or twice to use the restroom or pick up some soda but I headed straight back into the beis medrash without pausing to battel and shmooze in the halls. I went practically four and a half hours without stopping. I was asking Tosfos' questions and answering Rashi's answers. We went through Gemara, Rishonim and Achronim. It was unbelievable. This was an unparalleled success in the history of ME. So maybe this is not such a big deal as far as others are concerned. Maybe “they” stay up all night long every year. But everything is relative. And for me, this was one of my greatest learning successes ever. (We will talk about why learning doesn't usually work well for me in future posts but for now, take my word for it.) So I am going to give myself a big fat pat on the back. Because Im Lo Achshav, Aymasai? If I don't congratulate myself now, then when will I? If this isn't a victory, then what is?