A footnote worth sharing

Came across this classic footnote while reading the late Robert Nozick's Philosophical Explanations.

There is a story told that Martin Buber once spoke to a group of Christians saying something like the following: We Jews and you Christians hold many beliefs in common. Both of us believe the messiah will come. You Christians believe he has been there before, so that he will be coming for a second time, while we Jews believe he will be coming from the first time. For the foreseeable future, there is much we can cooperate together on -- and when the messiah does come, then we can ask him whether he's been here before.

There is only one thing to add to Buber's remarks. I would like to advise the messiah, when he comes and is asked the question whether he's been here before or not, to reply that he doesn't remember.

Robert Nozick, PHILOSOPHICAL EXPLANATIONS (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981):597.