Passover celebration

The Kurc family's celebration of Passover at the beginning of the novel is a symbol of their commitment to family togetherness and adherence to Jewish tradition. Nechuma recalls the difficult times of the first World War, when she and Sol were "forced to spend Passover huddled in the building's basement," with its "suffocating stench of human waste, the air thick with incessant moans of empty stomachs" (15). Now, Nechuma fears they will be facing such hardships again as the second World War dawns. She also laments the fact that Addy has not made it home to Radom. Passover is a family celebration, and Nechuma misses her son desperately, noting "His absence consumes her" (14). It is an unfortunate irony that Passover is the celebration of the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, and the Jews are once more about to face bondage and unfathomable...