A year or two ago I attended the funeral of a neighbor's father. One of the eulogies described how the kindness, knowledge and experience of the deceased were a model that is gradually being lost as the generation raised in pre-World War II Europe dies out. At the time I thought of my father, now also gone, who fit this mold. Having been raised by parents born and raised in Europe before World War II, my home contained a certain flavor, an unmistakable Jewish identity and outlook that was inhaled through their essence. I felt that this flavor, not related to level of religious observance, was absent from the homes of friends born to American parents. It saddens me that I will be unable … [Read more...]