For Buber, then, there is no essence of Judaism but there may be an essence of religious experience that transcends language and thus particularity.
Yet there may be an essence in Prada's work that says no to self-satisfaction.
DNA may be the essence of life, but it is the fear of impending death that drives the current genetic genealogy frenzy.
However serious an issue the settlements may be, the essence of the conflict is the same today as it was before there were settlements: the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.
But its legal position, upheld by the court, guarantees that the case will drag on into the new President's administration, which may be the essence of Microsoft's real strategy.
Enter one of its restaurants (Italian and Russian these days, though traditionally highly exclusive), and you look out on the eastern hills, temple spires rising above the trees; walk along it – this may be the essence of Kyoto – and you can see and feel the city's beauties all around you, but never quite catch sight of every one of them.
This may be the essence of encouragement: We make note of every improvement, not every mistake.
A landmark's essence may be the sum of the blue margaritas that have been drunk there.
In many cases, ignorance may present a false sense of well-being when in fact early detection and timely action may be of the essence.
Time may be of the essence, but when you're giving a dinner party, it's not necessarily essential.
Does not this dichotomy between creativity and destructiveness, crude though it may be, capture the essence of the century just ending?
