Lawrence S. Friedman refers to "The Pagan Rabbi" as "a quintessential Ozick story." It was first published in The Hudson Review in 1966, and then in 1971 as the title piece in the first collection of Ozick's short stories, The Pagan Rabbi and Other Stories. Garnering extensive critical acclaim, this collection won the B'nai B'rith Jewish Heritage Award in 1971, The Jewish Book Council Award, and the Edward Lewis Wallant Memorial Award in 1972, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in 1973. It was also nominated for a National Book Award in 1971. "The Pagan Rabbi" is included in the collection Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex (1999). Critics have consistently praised Ozick as a leading writer of short fiction. Five of Ozick's short stories have been included in the annual anthology, The Best American Short Stories, and three of her stories have won the O. Henry Award.

While critics haggle...