To be a Jew, I think, is to be always on the outside. With the exception of a small strip of desert in the Middle East and a small strip of asphalt in New York City, Jews are a minority wherever they go. Actually, minority is the best of it. In many places and times, Jews were outcasts. They were hated and reviled. Scorned, persecuted, killed.
Outsiderness is our condition. Not always comfortable. But it's served us well. It's made us more aware of our surroundings. More alive to the hope, humor, tragedy and possibilities of the world.
How else can you explain someone like Billy Wilder the great director? Wilder spoke no English when he arrived in America from Nazi-fied Europe in 1933. Yet by the end of his career he had gained 21 Academy Award nominations and seven Oscar wins.
Tonight I had the great good fortune of shopping for books with my younger daughter. She's leaving for the summer to teach scuba diving in the Caribbean and wanted to make sure she had something decent to read. Walking home on 86th Street I saw a man a few years older than me wearing the t-shirt I've pasted above.
It reads "Fall Flanken Festival 2011 You hafta have a heart to have heartburn."
It's nice to feel at home.
