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

There was one public school for boys, and one for girls, but Jewish children were admitted in limited numbers - only ten to a hundred; and even the lucky ones had their troubles.

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

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

The apex of my civic pride and personal contentment was reached on the bright September morning when I entered the public school.

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.

A long past vividly remembered is like a heavy garment that clings to your limbs when you would run.