From Anne Michaels'  Fugitive Pieces :

"Though the contradictions of war seem sudden and simultaneous, history stalks before it strikes. Something tolerated soon becomes something good..."

"It's Hebrew tradition that forefathers are referred to as 'we,' not 'they.' 'When we were delivered from Egypt. . . .' This encourages empathy and a responsibility to the past but, more important, it collapses time. The Jew is forever leaving Egypt. A good way to teach ethics. If moral choices are eternal, individual actions take on immense significance no matter how small: not for this life only."