All of us are shaped by different memories. My memories strongly revolve around our Shabbos table debates as a family. I especially remember going up to the Catskills to my grandparents’ house in Monticello, New York, with all the aunts and uncles and their husbands and wives sitting around the dining room table with my grandparents, and we would argue our heads off about every and any topic on the planet. My father would jump in giving the Hasidic point of view. My aunt Renee, who had the first PhD among the women in the family, would jump in with her point of view. Anyone who could argue in a robust and intelligent way would have their say. I remember those debates with so much happiness. Part of the reason that I enjoy writing and doing my daily video blogs is to hear the comments and the reactions, and to learn from what others contribute to the conversation. I think it is a real great thing that people nowadays want to advocate for causes, but somehow we have lost the sheer joy of getting to the bottom of an issue together, sitting at the table, just arm-wrestling with our words.