To my Grandmothers Rose and Sara:

one sang to me,

and one confided in me that, had she been

born a man, she would have been a philosopher

To Szmuel Zygelbojm, who fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, served on the parliament of the exiled Polish government, was imprisoned, and then miraculously made his way to England in order to persuade the Western Allies to intervene against the genocide. But no one listened. On May 12, 1943, in protest and despair, he committed suicide on the steps of 10 Downing Street. He was forty-eight years old.

To Abraham Zygielbaum, Szmuel's youngest brother, actor, poet, beloved teacher, and dear man. He survived the Holocaust, married Tema, immigrated to America after the war, and taught for many years at Hebrew Union College. He fought fascism his own way, through stories and songs, which he thought were the most powerful weapons of all. He was my teacher.