Scene: The ride back.

  Thomas is in the back seat with Miriam and David Mendelson. It’s quiet at first, the hum of the car and streetlights flicking past. Shoshana is riding in Tamar’s car.

  David (glancing in the rearview): Can I ask something I didn’t bring up back at Katz’s? I’ve had this feeling all evening—that there’s something you’re holding close. Not something bad, just… something you don’t expect people to understand.

  Miriam (softly): We won’t judge, whatever it is.

  Thomas (hesitates): I’m not sure how to say it. It’s… abstract. And maybe a little weird.

  David: Try us. We’ve been around the block. Twice.

  Miriam (smiling): Three times, if you count Shoshana’s teenage years.

  Thomas (cracking a small smile): Fair enough.

  David: You ever see The Blues Brothers?

  Thomas (genuinely confused): I don’t think so. I mean—I’ve heard of it in passing, maybe? My birth parents weren’t really into Saturday Night Live or… pop culture, honestly. We didn’t watch much.

  Miriam: We saw it in the theater when it came out. Big, chaotic, hilarious mess. But it had this one running line…

  David and Miriam (in unison, with a grin): “We’re on a mission from God.”

  Thomas (tilts his head): That’s… oddly familiar.

  David: I’ve been thinking about that all night, watching you. All you’ve taken on, the way you carry yourself—it’s like you’ve got something guiding you, even if you don’t always say it out loud.

  Thomas (quietly): What if I told you… I had a Lech Lecha moment?

  Miriam (turning to face him): Like Abraham?

  Thomas: Yeah. A moment that wasn’t thunder or visions—just a question that settled into me, so deep I couldn’t ignore it.

  David: What was the question?

  Thomas (softly): Will you go where I lead you?

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  [There’s a beat of silence. The car keeps rolling through the quiet dark.]

  Miriam: That’s not something people talk about easily. But it explains so much.

  David: It does. That kind of call—it’s not about ego. It’s about direction. Obedience, even when the path isn’t clear.

  Miriam: You know… in our tradition, we speak of people who can sense the Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of God. Not in visions or miracles, but in the needs of others. The quiet nudges.

  David: Your kind of listening—that inner sensitivity—it’s rare. And it’s been a gift to this family. To Shoshana.

  Miriam: She’s always had that too. A way of sensing what’s broken and what’s needed. Maybe that’s why she found you.

  Thomas (barely audible): Or why I found you.

  [They drive on in companionable silence. The headlights stretch the road ahead like a promise.]

  Would you like a matching short scene with Tamar and Shoshana to echo or contrast this?

  [

  Scene: Tamar’s car, late evening.

  Shoshana rides shotgun. Zeb is in the back. The car hums along the freeway, city lights glinting through the windows. A comfortable silence sits between them until Tamar breaks it.

  Tamar (glancing at Shoshana): So… what’d you think of tonight?

  Shoshana (smiling faintly): It was fun. Honestly, it felt normal. That’s not a bad thing.

  (turns slightly in her seat)

  But Zeb—what was with asking him about his family’s religious history out of nowhere?

  Zeb (shrugging): I was following a hunch. There’s something deep about how he relates to faith. I wanted to understand it better.

  Shoshana: Still felt random.

  Zeb (quietly): There comes a point where things stop feeling random. Even coincidences start to hum with something more.

  (beat)

  Do you know why I really want him working with me over winter break?

  Shoshana: I assumed you just wanted to spend more time with him. Learn what makes him tick.

  Tamar (softly, from the driver’s seat): Or maybe you want to see how he handles minyan. How he navigates new people, new customs. Maybe you’re trying to encourage him—Jewishly.

  Zeb: That’s part of it. But there’s more. The odds don’t add up. Not with him.

  (pauses)

  He’s picked up so much about our structure—about us—like it’s second nature. And I’ve seen how he lights up around tech. I have this feeling he could help us translate the way we work into something… scalable. Practical. Codified. Something we didn’t even know we needed.

  Shoshana (half-laughs): That’s a pretty big leap from a deli sandwich.

  Zeb: Sure. But so was you talking to him that day you met.

  Tamar (glancing in the mirror): You know he’s right. You’re not exactly the strike-up-a-conversation-with-strangers type.

  Zeb: And I’m a numbers guy. I don’t usually go in for mysticism. But with Thomas?

  (beat)

  It starts to feel like beshert. Like he was supposed to be here. Not just with you—but with us. At this time. For a reason.

  Tamar: There’s a kind of… generosity around him. Or maybe grace is the better word. It’s like he keeps showing up where he’s needed—then helping the people who help him. He jumps in with Grandpa, and then somehow becomes the hinge in the door for all of us.

  (she glances at Shoshana)

  And with you? It’s like you two are tuned to the same station. I can’t explain it, but it’s like you communicate on some other level.

  Zeb (nods): It’s weird. But it works. Really works—for both of you.

  Tamar (smiling): That much is clear.

  They fall into silence again, this one heavier with thought than before. Outside, the highway signs blur past like quiet affirmations.