Discussion Questions
1.
Physical Characteristics:
Danny and Reuven are both Jews. They both are engage in softball. In fact, their first meet is during a softball game between Danny’s Hasidic team and Reuven’s orthodox team, and Danny hit Reuven’s eye with the ball. Danny is a good hitter and Reuven is a pitcher. In appearance, Danny always wears his earlocks, he looks a little bit like Abraham Lincoln with side curls.
Mental Characteristics:
Danny and Reuven both loves learning. For example, they both study Graetz’s History of the Jews. Both of them are smart, although Danny has a extraordinary memory which makes him different from everyone else. They both have deep Jewish faith, although Danny is a hasid and Reuven is a traditional orthodox …show more content…
After not speaking for more than two years, Danny approaches Reuven to ask for his help with math. Reuven talks with Danny about the silence between him and his father. David Malter, Reuven’s father, asked about Danny’s situation. Reuven told him that Danny is in bad shape, and his father hasn’t been talking to him but remain silence. This is when the quote conversation takes place. I think this quote reveals David’s discontentment of Reb’s imposed silence with his son. The most confusing part in the quote is what David refuses to explain: “What a price to pay for a soul.” In my opinion, David is comparing Reb’s silence treatment to his son as a price he has to pay in order to train his son to be a tzaddik, who has to bear the suffering of the entire Jewish people. My guess is proved in Chapter 18, where Reb reveals that he wants to let his son bearing the burden of suffering, a fundamental part of being a tzaddik, by treating him with …show more content…
Quote:
Pg. 132 “We are commanded to study His Torah! We are commanded to sit in the light of the Presence! It is for this that we were created!”
Explanation:
The speaker is Reb Saunders. He is doing an agitative speech during the Shabbat meal in his shul. He uses Talmudic quotes from different jews to express his idea that Jews are God’s chosen people and they have more duties than the non-Jews. He states that Jews must accept the responsibilities that God gives them. In my opinion, his words reflects that he insists Jews must immerse themselves to their exclusive community and study Judaism. Considering the slaughter of jews in Europe during the second World War and the following Zionism, Reb’s opinion seems more passive.
2.
Quote:
Pg. 291 ”We shook hands and I watched him walk quickly away, tall, lean, bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future, his metal capped shoes tapping against the sidewalk. Then he turned into Lee Avenue and was gone.”
1.
Physical Characteristics:
Danny and Reuven are both Jews. They both are engage in softball. In fact, their first meet is during a softball game between Danny’s Hasidic team and Reuven’s orthodox team, and Danny hit Reuven’s eye with the ball. Danny is a good hitter and Reuven is a pitcher. In appearance, Danny always wears his earlocks, he looks a little bit like Abraham Lincoln with side curls.
Mental Characteristics:
Danny and Reuven both loves learning. For example, they both study Graetz’s History of the Jews. Both of them are smart, although Danny has a extraordinary memory which makes him different from everyone else. They both have deep Jewish faith, although Danny is a hasid and Reuven is a traditional orthodox …show more content…
After not speaking for more than two years, Danny approaches Reuven to ask for his help with math. Reuven talks with Danny about the silence between him and his father. David Malter, Reuven’s father, asked about Danny’s situation. Reuven told him that Danny is in bad shape, and his father hasn’t been talking to him but remain silence. This is when the quote conversation takes place. I think this quote reveals David’s discontentment of Reb’s imposed silence with his son. The most confusing part in the quote is what David refuses to explain: “What a price to pay for a soul.” In my opinion, David is comparing Reb’s silence treatment to his son as a price he has to pay in order to train his son to be a tzaddik, who has to bear the suffering of the entire Jewish people. My guess is proved in Chapter 18, where Reb reveals that he wants to let his son bearing the burden of suffering, a fundamental part of being a tzaddik, by treating him with …show more content…
Quote:
Pg. 132 “We are commanded to study His Torah! We are commanded to sit in the light of the Presence! It is for this that we were created!”
Explanation:
The speaker is Reb Saunders. He is doing an agitative speech during the Shabbat meal in his shul. He uses Talmudic quotes from different jews to express his idea that Jews are God’s chosen people and they have more duties than the non-Jews. He states that Jews must accept the responsibilities that God gives them. In my opinion, his words reflects that he insists Jews must immerse themselves to their exclusive community and study Judaism. Considering the slaughter of jews in Europe during the second World War and the following Zionism, Reb’s opinion seems more passive.
2.
Quote:
Pg. 291 ”We shook hands and I watched him walk quickly away, tall, lean, bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future, his metal capped shoes tapping against the sidewalk. Then he turned into Lee Avenue and was gone.”