Part I: A Contract with God Summary and Analysis

Summary:

Part I, A Contract with God - Frimmie Hersh lives at 55 Dropsie Street, a tenement building in the Bronx. Hersh has just returned from burying his daughter, Rachele, and the skies have opened up in a downpour. Hersh was born in Russia in 1881, and his parents die when he is 10 years old. Hersh sets out to help his community by running errands and delivering goods, and defending others against the Tsar's troops. Believing Hersh is favored by God, survivors pool their money to send Hersh to America. The elderly Reb Lipshitz is selected to bring Hersh to the coast, and Reb explains that God is always just. So Hersh decides to make a contract with God, writing it on a small stone he brings with him to New York.

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