As the oldest I always knew I occupied a unique place in my large family. But once my two younger brothers started learning regularly with my father I felt left out. It didn’t seem fair to me that they were getting more of his attention.

“I want to learn with Abba too” I complained one day when I was just nine years old.

Despite his busy schedule as a shul rav my father rose to the challenge: “What do you want to learn?”

We decided on bi’ur tefillah. Every day after supper I’d descend the linoleum-covered stairs to my father’s basement office and perch myself on a metal folding chair at his side earnestly peering into the siddur he had opened for me.

I still remember how proud I felt going into my father’s study and sitting in front of a sefer with him. Learning with Abba made me special. It made me different. When I reminded my father recently of this “chavrusashaft” he was surprised and touched. He didn’t remember it.

But I did.

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