Summary

The I-Word. As the President of the United States makes a speech in support of the relief efforts in the earthquake-stricken Middle East, Tamir waits for him to use the specific word Israel (i.e. the I-word). He never does. As Tamir and Jacob argue over whether what that means, Julia comes in and joins the argument, which turns into a discussion of whether Sam’s bar mitzvah should be canceled, or at least the plans changed, as a result of both the earthquake and Isaac’s death. All three children – Sam, Max, and Benjy – appear, and the conversation quickly becomes a five-way argument, part of which involves Jacob and Julia taking marriage-related pot-shots at each other. The chapter ends with a description from an image on the television, a woman “of unknown ethnicity...