This week’s Torah portion, more than any other, brings back precious memories, for it is the week of my Bat Mitzvah, not at age 13, but at age 36. I studied for nine months for this event with the ferocity of a tiger, rising each morning at 5:30 to go downstairs and study. Remarkable, considering that I naturally am a late riser. It was as if the divine energy of the Torah were flowing through my veins, giving me a zest I had never before known.
