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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Chapter 6 take place?

2. In Chapter 8, where did Ester find her brother?

3. Who is the Jewish philosopher referenced in one of the papers that Helen finds in Chapter 9?

4. When did Helen buy the picture of the Masada that hangs in her office?

5. In Chapter 12, how many candles did Ester use when reading Augustine and Descartes in the night?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 1, why does Darcy recommend Aaron Levy to help Helen?

2. In Chapter 11, how does Aaron act in the rare manuscripts room?

3. What does Aaron look like when Helen sees him in the rare manuscripts room in Chapter 15?

4. What rules did the Mahamad set forth in a pamphlet in Chapter 14?

5. In Chapter 11, how did Helen come to buy the Masada painting?

6. Why did Catherine and Mary da Costa Mendes come to speak with Ester in Chapter 10?

7. In Chapter 12, why did the rabbi tell Rivka that Ester read in the night?

8. What did the letter propose that Ester burned in Chapter 12?

9. In Chapter 16 who wanted to marry Ester and why?

10. In Chapter 15, how did Helen learn of Dror's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ester wants to communicate with one of the rabbi’s former students, Spinoza. Why does Ester want to communicate with Spinoza? How are their thoughts similar? How are they dissimilar?

Essay Topic 2

Ester believes that she betrayed the rabbi. Why does Ester believe that she betrayed the rabbi? How does she chastise herself for the betrayal? How does the betrayal affect how she lives?

Essay Topic 3

Both Helen and Ester have regrets about how they have lived their lives. What regrets do the women have? How do those regrets affect their lives and how they live?

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