My family came to this country long enough ago that I heard no foreign accents, let alone languages, while growing up. My forbears in Europe were not poor shtetl Jews. My birth father’s parents came from families of professional musicians. My mother’s father’s family was an interesting mix of wealth and poverty (on one side, property owners and entrepreneurs; on the other side, tanners). My maternal grandmother’s family was descended from a long line of distinguished rabbis and also owned a publishing house.
[Content continues with personal history through education, rabbinical training, and career, ending with philosophical reflections on dialogue and acceptance]
I accept people as they are. I do not expect to convert anyone away from their opinions, but I do hope for light to be shed on questions we discuss.