The Jews are called the People of the Book. I like that title. It connotes a sense of seriousness, learnedness and a connection to a word and a history that passes from one generation to the next. The only problem with a book, especially one written in history, is it rarely describes tomorrow. When entrenched in our history such book cannot focus on hope for the future.

The Jewish people of the Book are a people that are wedded to history. And, much of our history is riddled with challenge and sorrow. We are a people that are quick to look back and hesitant to look forward. We have good reason. We were hated in almost every land we inhabited before 1776. We faced pogroms and slander and boycott and death all for our beliefs and the manner in which we expressed those beliefs. We pushed forward against the hatred and persevered. As such, we are hard wired to be a people of memory, pain and yesterdays.

When I was a kid I always wanted to be a truck driver. Not just any truck driver, mind you. I wanted to be a truck driver for a moving company.

My desire stems from my personal experience of moving often as a kid. I vividly remember packing up our home with my parents and brothers, and large men — usually named Spike or Roy — came and put all of our possessions on a truck. Then, off the truck went on a new journey to a new destiny and new beginnings. We left that which was comfortable, and started on the road to a new beginning.