For some years I deserted religion in favour of Marxism. The republic of goodness seemed more attainable than the Kingdom of God.

During the Second World War, evacuated to non-Jewish households, I encountered Christianity at home and in school.

I feel that the Christian experience and the Jewish one have much to give each other. If this open society continues and there is no return to political anti-Semitism, then this encounter, deeper than any theology, may happen.

My mother enjoyed old age, and because of her I've begun to enjoy parts of it too. So far I've had it good and am crumbling nicely.

The Christian use of religion as a personal love affair both shocked me, and attracted me.

I was not comfortable worshipping another Jew.

My mother was a modern woman with a limited interest in religion. When the sun set and the fast of the Day of Atonement ended, she shot from the synagogue like a rocket to dance the Charleston.