Compassion

A. STEPAKOFF: The last thing I wanted you to do was to be afraid of being Jewish. Some of it went back to my childhood. My mother had told me stories from the '40s and '50s. Now, all of a sudden, through my 6-year-old to experience this. You know, one of the most difficult things for me was I could never assure you I could protect you. You know, I could never put my arms around you and say, don't worry, Josh, I'll keep you safe because I couldn't.

J. STEPAKOFF: For me, as I started to reflect on why I was shot, I started to think of all of the good things that came from Judaism as opposed to this one terrible thing. I started to remember that it's my view on life. It's making sure that I treat everyone with compassion. And that was more of what Judaism meant to me, rather than a threat to who I was.

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