Erev Shavuos.

I’m feeling overwhelmed by the formidable challenge in front of me. The chances of me being able to appear perky and wide awake while inwardly being exhausted seem extremely improbable. I continue to pore over seforim that would inspire and rejuvenate while simultaneously fielding phone calls and e-mails. How will I get through this night?

When the call finally came I was totally unprepared.

He was calling fromIsrael. At first I couldn’t comprehend his words due to his thick accent. He kept asking “Is this Rabbi Eisenman?”

Finally I heard: “I’m originally fromAucklandNew Zealand but I’ve been living and learning in Yerushalayim for the last 30 years.”

I had no idea why this former Aucklander was calling me Erev Shavuos.

“Rabbi Eisenman did you learn in Yeshivat Har Etzion in 1979?” After doing some quick math I realized he was correct. I was in that yeshivah in 1979! But how did this “voice from the past” know me from that yeshivah more than 30 years ago? And I couldn’t recall any New Zealanders learning there.

He continued: “Didn’t you learn with a group ofNew Zealandteenagers on Shavuos night 32 years ago? Don’t you remember learning with us the entire Shavuos night?”

Suddenly a memory from more than three decades ago raced back into my mind. It was Erev Shavuos night. A group of about ten young boys from New Zealandwere visiting Eretz Yisrael. Their counselor had convinced them to spend Shavuos in a yeshivah. These boys had minimal knowledge of Hebrew and their exposure to Gemara was limited to say the least. The mashgiach of our yeshivah asked the few American bochurim if any would be interested in learning with these young men. When the mashgiach personally approached me I hesitated. I’d been planning on plumbing the depths of a deep Gemara sugya not explaining elementary concepts to a group of bored 17-year-olds. However I agreed to donate an hour of my time for them.

Or so I thought.

What began as one hour soon morphed into an entire night. I learned with them and laughed with them and grew with them all of us immersed in Torah and conversations having to do with Torah. At the end of the night we davened with the sunrise and afterward ate cheesecake and took naps. As I fell asleep that morning a feeling of contentment and happiness enveloped me. I’d entered the night as the teacher yet by the end of the night I was the student. When Yom Tov was over we parted and hadn’t been in touch with each other for 32 years. But now we were connected again.

“Of course I remember that night. It was one of the most memorable Shavuos experiences of my life.”

“Mine too! I was one of those boys and I want to tell you something I’ve wanted to tell you for over 30 years. However I never knew where you were. When I saw your name in Mishpacha I decided I must call you.” He paused. “I want you to know” he continued “that that Shavuos night changed my life. I stayed in yeshivah in Eretz Yisrael after that and I have since married and have a family of my own. I think of you every Shavuos and finally today decided I must call you to say thank you.”

“Do you mean to tell me that one Shavuos changed your life and inspired you to remain in learning all these years?”

Suddenly there was no more tiredness. Suddenly life became manageable.

Suddenly everything was worthwhile.