Chapter 7, Part 2 Summary

A priest comes to comfort Yakov. He has begged the guards to be allowed in, having had a vision where he must help this suffering Jew. The priest says if Yakov converts to Orthodox dogma, he will be released from prison. Yakov retreats to the shadows and puts on the prayer shawl and straps on the phylactery.

The priest runs out screaming and Yakov is searched for a fourth time that day. His New Testament is confiscated. He is later given a pile of pages from the Old Testament with missing pages and blood stains.

Chapter 7, Part 2 Analysis

This brief segment seems to be a transition section. Change is clearly in the air again for Yakov Bok. The compassion of the guards seems to foretell a positive change, but past patterns in the novel could indicate an abrupt turn for the...