Bread Givers

“The prayers of his daughters didn’t count because God didn’t listen to women […] Women could get into Heaven because they were wives and daughters of men. Women had no brains for the study of God’s Torah, but they could be the servants of men who studied the Torah.”

This quote exemplifies the basis for The Threat of Patriarchal Control. Reb Smolinsky employs a patriarchal form of Judaism that has strict gender roles, making women dependent upon men for redemption. The reference to wifehood as a prerequisite for entry to heaven foreshadows the later tension between Reb Smolinsky and his daughters over marriage.

“I’m only a sinful woman […] God be praised for the little we have. I’m willing to give up all my earthly needs for the wine of Heaven with you. But […] God gave us children. They have a life to live yet, here, on earth.”

Sara sees how Shenah believes in Reb Smolinsky’s misogyny because she thinks that it is God’s word. In spite of this, Shenah uses her leverage as Reb Smolinsky’s wife to remind him that they cannot abandon their children’s needs simply because he wants to study the Torah. This quote demonstrates the complex ways that Shenah navigates The Threat of Patriarchal Control, simultaneously belittling herself and uplifting her daughters.

“I should set you up in business yet! […] I’m marrying your daughter—not the whole family. Ain’t it enough that your daughter kept you in laziness all these years? You want yet her husband to support you for the rest of your days? In America they got no use for Torah learning. In America everybody got to earn his living first. You got two hand and two feet. Why don’t you go to work?”

Berel Bernstein describes Americanization, which Reb Smolinsky views as a threat to true Judaism. Berel is the first character in the novel who confronts Reb Smolinsky for the way that he lives off his daughters’ work. His words reflect the theme of Traditional Values Versus Modern Aspirations.