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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Asher insist on staying while his parents go to Europe?

2. What is the place where Aryeh goes regularly to have a ritual bath?

3. When Rivkeh is worried for Aryeh's safety, to which relative does she cry out?

4. By what name does the Lev family frequently call the Jewish God?

5. In her long weeks of studying and of waiting for Aryeh to return, Rivkeh picks up the habit of gnawing on what object?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the mashpia's instructions, there are three types of Jews. List the types and explain them briefly.

2. Why does Rivkeh want to enter the university?

3. How does Rivkeh react to the drawings Asher creates as a toddler?

4. What happens to the Russian writers? How do the Levs react?

5. When Asher first meets Jacob Kahn, what advice does Jacob give him concerning becoming an artist?

6. Describe Asher's mythic ancestor.

7. Several times in Chapter 4, Aryeh explains his reasons for wanting to go to Europe to work for the Rebbe. Explain some of those reasons.

8. What does Asher know about his paternal grandfather?

9. What does the mashpia do at Asher's school?

10. Where does the Lev family spend their summers? What do they do there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does religion affect the daily lives of the Lev family? Provide some examples of the way they think about God throughout the day, remembering to include a discussion of their activities, their conversation, and their world views.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the question arises whether Asher's art is from the Ribbono shel olom, which is a name for God, or from the sitra achra, which is a name for the forces of evil. Asher himself wonders at various times what the source of his art is. Provide some reasons why Asher's art may possibly come from each source, and then explain whether you think Asher's art sides with good or with evil. If you think his art is completely neutral, explain why. Use specific examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

"Vocation" is a word that describes one's choice of career as a way to fulfill one's personhood. This novel heavily emphasizes vocation as a way to follow God. Compare and contrast Aryeh's choice to travel for the Rebbe with Asher's choice to become an artist. Do you think they choose appropriate vocations to express who they are on the inside? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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