You went up to be examined with the other Jewish children, your heart heavy about that matter of your nose.

We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the spirit, in those who are attentive to their own inner life, are slow and exceedingly painful. Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth.

I have so little mastered the art of tranquil living that wherever I go I trail storm clouds of drama around me.

Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth.

You heard on all sides that the brightest Jewish children were turned down if the examining officers did not like the turn of their noses.

The czar always got his dues, no matter if it ruined a family.

It is not that I belong to the past, but the past that belongs to me.