ABSTRACT
On contemplating how I would reflect on the stories in these pages and on how to extend this dialogue, I knew right away that my response would be based on the emotions of shared experience among rich differences. There is a Zen-like experience among Jews, or at least among this Jew, feeling at once connected yet acutely aware of our different paths. The ever present unifying Jewish awareness of generations of persecution clings to most of us like a cape, and just like a cape, it can be different depending on who is wearing it. For some it covers the arms, preventing action and agency, yet for others it enables them to catch the wind and fly.
