Bread Givers

Sara decides to visit her family after six years. She knows her parents moved back to Hester Street, and she goes to their apartment, where she listens to her parents talking. Shenah begs Reb Smolinsky not to leave her alone, but Reb Smolinsky tells her he cannot miss the prayers at the synagogue. Reb Smolinsky leaves so quickly that he does not see Sara standing by the door. Sara goes inside and sees with horror that her mother is sick. Sara remembers how she told her mother that she did not have time to visit her and feels guilty. Sara promises to use her money to pay doctors to cure Shenah, but Shenah says that the doctors cannot help her. Fania, Bessie, and Mashah come to visit, and they are happy to see Sara. Sara sees that her sisters look gray from poverty.

When Reb Smolinsky arrives, he gets mad at Sara for abandoning her mother in her sickness. Shenah tells them that she knows Reb Smolinsky is planning to marry Mrs. Feinstein when she dies. The doctor examines Shenah. Afterward, the doctor says that Shenah has blood poisoning and needs to have her foot amputated, but Shenah refuses to go to the hospital. A few days later, Shenah gets worse, and she dies. Sara, her sisters, and Reb Smolinsky cry together.

Over the next few hours, neighbors mourn with the family. The undertaker puts Shenah in a coffin and tells them to say goodbye, then he nails the coffin shut. The undertaker cuts Reb Smolinsky’s clothes with a knife, in the Jewish tradition. He cuts Sara’s sister’s clothes too, but Sara tells him not to cut her suit because it will not bring her mother back. The neighbors shame Sara for turning on her Jewish heritage. Sara and her family follow the hearse towards the funeral ceremony for Shenah.

Sara visits Reb Smolinsky often because of her promise to Shenah. One day, Reb Smolinsky tells Sara that since the proper mourning period for Shenah has passed, he wants to marry Mrs. Feinstein. Sara realizes that Shenah’s suspicions about Mrs. Feinstein and Reb Smolinsky were correct. Sara tells Reb Smolinsky that he should not remarry, but Reb Smolinsky says that he already married Mrs. Feinstein the day before. Sara tells her sisters the news, and they cry because of Reb Smolinsky’s disrespect to Shenah.

One day, a letter arrives at Sara’s classroom from Mrs. Feinstein, asking her to come to the house. When Sara arrives at Reb Smolinsky’s apartment, Sara’s stepmother complains to her that Reb Smolinsky does not earn any money. Sara sees that her stepmother’s clothes are silk and thinks with disgust how her mother never got to wear such fine clothes even though she worked for Reb Smolinsky for forty years. Reb Smolinsky gets home and argues with Mrs. Feinstein about money, and Sara leaves. She tells her sisters about what happened, but they refuse to give their money to Reb Smolinsky, especially after he would not help them with their marriages.

Sara loves her job as a teacher, and she likes working for the principal, Hugo Seelig. One day, Hugo sits in on her class about English pronunciation. While she helps the students with their pronunciation, she does not realize that her language slips back into her vernacular until Hugo corrects her. Sara wonders if she will get in trouble. Hugo calls Sara into his office, and he shows her a letter from Mrs. Feinstein, accusing Sara of leaving her father to starve. Sara thinks that Hugo will fire her, so she leaves without a word. Sara feels hatred for Reb Smolinsky again because of how he poisons every aspect of her life.

The next day, Hugo comes to her classroom, but instead of firing her, he gives her positive feedback about her class. They walk home together. Sara invites him inside and learns that he is also Polish. Sara does not remember Poland, but Hugo tells her that he remembers living in a hut with his family. Sara tells him about her family and explains the letter from her stepmother. Hugo assures her that he knew the letter was a lie, and it made him realize what a similar upbringing they had. After he leaves, she thinks that she may not be alone anymore.

Three months later, Sara walks to meet Hugo for dinner. Sara decides that she will visit Reb Smolinsky soon since she has not seen him in months. When she gets near the café, a rush of people pushes her into an old peddler selling chewing gum. Sara knocks the gum off the peddler’s tray, and she stops to pick the gum up. The man thanks Sara, and she realizes it is Reb Smolinsky. He tells her that his wife told him he had to make money because his children abandoned him. Sara sees that he is cold and knows that he is too old to work. Sara remembers how Shenah made her promise to take care of her father in his old age. She helps him home and tucks him into bed to get him warm.

When Sara visits Reb Smolinsky after work the next day, he is worse because her stepmother does not take care of him. Sara gives her stepmother ten dollars and says that if she cares for Reb Smolinsky, Sara will continue to pay her every week.

One day, Sara brings Hugo to meet her father. Hugo impresses Reb Smolinsky by asking him to teach him Hebrew. To Sara’s dismay, Reb Smolinsky tells her he cannot live with his wife anymore. Sara realizes that no matter how much she tries to run away from her father, his shadow will always follow her. Sara asks Reb Smolinsky to live with her and Hugo. Reb Smolinsky tells her that if she respects his Jewish traditions, he will live with her. Sara realizes that Reb Smolinsky’s traditions are all he has in a world that constantly changes around him. As Reb Smolinsky goes back to reading the Torah, Hugo and Sara leave. Sara tells Hugo about Reb Smolinsky, and Hugo tells her that he must come live with them in their home. As they leave, Sara hears Reb Smolinsky reciting the Torah, “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (296). Sara feels the weight of a burden on her that she realizes is not just from her father but from generations of men before her who treated women as less than themselves.