Jessica, thanks for the provocative comments re Dr. Atomic. Most of the Dr. A lyrics were reconfigured from the poems that Oppenheimer read –obsessively, at times— while working on the Manhattan project. I am also Jewish and can say, from personal experience, that the majority of the spiritual poems, lyrics, novels, films and plays I draw inspiration from were neither written by nor written for Jews. Personal favorites (to name a few) include Handel’s “Messiah,” Kieslovski’s “Red,” “White” and “Blue,” Hossani’s “The Kite Runner,” Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” and the Beatles, “Let it Be,” to name a few. The Christian, Buddhist and Muslim artists who created these works are able reach a place so deeply human, that they enable us to momentarily supersede the boundaries the boundaries that separate us. At least that is my experience with it. Of course it’s different for everybody. I also enjoy the work of Jewish artists and found Jonathan Saffron Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluyah” and Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour on Sirius Radio” particularly inspiring, as of late. Of course all these things are always changing. Depending on what phase of life I’m in.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with me.