Zlateh the Goat

“For Reuven the furrier it was a bad year, and after long hesitation he decided to sell Zlateh the goat.”

The mild winter made it difficult for Reuven to provide the necessary Hanukkah provisions. Reuven hesitated but ultimately decided to sell Zlateh. Singer highlights the theme of Faith and Doubt in this quote through what Reuven did and didn’t do. He didn’t pray. He didn’t trust. Ironically, he uses Zlateh as a possession to sell in order to provide what he needs for the holiday of miracles, rather than put his trust in the God of those miracles.

“She was old and gave little milk.”

Singer is making a point: Zlateh is being treated as a possession rather than a valuable soul. She’s being sold because a human no longer sees value in her. As long as she could provide milk, she was worth something. Once she could no longer feed the humans or meet a need that a human might have, she was to be sold for meat. Singer uses Zlateh to show that animals are worth more than the milk they provide.

“Aaron understood what taking the goat to Feyvel meant, but he had to obey his father.”

This quote is evidence that Aaron is a foil to his father. Aaron obeys his father even when he doesn’t agree with him. Aaron sees Zlateh’s value, while