Here I Am: A Novel

“In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world.”

“Here’s the deal: the world population of Jews falls within the margin of error of the Chinese census, and everyone hates us.”

(Unlike Jacob, she never gave an ostensible explanation for moving away from him, she never “forgot something.”

“You had a talk? You think talk got us out of Egypt or Entebbe? Uh-uh. Plagues and Uzis. Talk gets you a good place in line for a shower that isn’t a shower.”

“Judaism has a special relationship with words. Giving a word to a thing is to give it life. ‘Let there be light,’ God said, and there was light. No magic. No raised hands and thunder. The articulation made it possible. It is perhaps the most powerful of all Jewish ideas: expression is generative.

“Nothing goes away. Not on its own. You deal with it, or it deals with you.”

Without love, you die. With love, you also die. Not all deaths are equal.

And when they left, he’d spend twice as long as their visit bemoaning how big-headed and tiny-minded they were, how American Jews were Jews and these Israeli crackpots were Hebrews—people who, given their way, would sacrifice animals and serve kings.

“Anyway, Grandpa Irv used to do this thing where he’d give Max and me five bucks if we made a speech that convinced him of something. Anytime, anything.