Chapter Seventeen
33.Danny called me during supper as soon as the ambulance pulled away from in
front of his house, and I could tell from his voice that he was in panic. (p. 251)
Levi Saunders, Danny?s little brother, is very ill and must be rushed to the hospital. This is extremely important to Danny because he is counting on his brother to take over the role of heir to the tzaddik throne once Danny tells his father that he is not going to be a rabbi. To Danny this is much more important than even losing a family member and Reuven understands this when Danny calls.
34.?You will go on Passover. He has a reason if he asked you to come especially
on Passover. And listen next time when someone speaks to you, Reuven.?
(p. 258)
Mr. Malter is scolding Reuven for not paying attention to Mr. Saunders indirect invitation to talk about Danny. Reuven is still angry with Reb Saunders and he did not want to spend his Shabbat talking to him about Talmud but he failed to realize that Mr. Saunders wanted to talk to Reuven about his son. What Mr. Malter is actually telling Reuven is that when someone says something he should not always take it as literally as it sounds. He also wants Reuven to forget about the past with Mr. Saunders and give him another chance.
Chapter Eighteen
35.?My father himself never talked to me, except when we studied together. He
taught me with silence.? (p. 265)
Danny Saunders? grandfather also taught Reb Saunders with silence. This tradition was passed down from generation to generation but Danny rebels against it and decides that this type of future is not for him. In a very emotional discussion father and son discuss Danny?s future as a psychologist and not a tzaddik.
36.?But he learned to find the answers for himself. He suffered and learned to
listen to the suffering of others. In the silence between us he began to hear
the world crying.? (p. 267)
Reb Saunders finally tells Danny the reason why they do not talk to
each other; he wanted Danny to hear the suffering of the world through
the silence between father and son. This is the Saunders? family way of teaching a boy to grow up and become a tzaddik, silence. It is ironic how Reb Saunders stressed the importance of silence for Danny?s personal growth toward becoming a leader but it is partly because of the silence between him and his father that he does not want to become a tzaddik at all.