Book Two, Chapter Eight Summary

In the first part of Chapter Eight, the story is focused in on in Rav Kalman's Torah class. Kalman is finished picking on Reuven and has turned to another student, Abe Greenfield. Greenfield is something of a genius in mathematics and is pursuing a mathematics PhD at MIT. He had a major math final that day and had not come to class prepared. He is unusually quiet but had been prepared for class every day for the past year and a half.

But Kalman discovers Abe is unprepared. Abe is shaking, and Kalman asks him why he isn't prepared. He says he had a math exam, and Kalman attacks him for choosing math over studying the Torah. Abe eventually loses his temper and demands that Kalman apologize for shaming him in class. Kalman refuses, and Abe storms...