Pinchus's Unfulfilled and Fulfilled Life

How a man destined to be a scholar became an American citizen through the lives of his children.

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The Saintly Grandfather's Heir

The Saintly Grandfather's Heir The Fame of Israel Kimanyer Pinchus was the grandson of a zaddik, Israel Kimanyer, whose holy life redeemed a poor clan. The family boasted his descent. The Carried Burden His grandmother carried him on her back through snow to heder. She pawned her shawl for his schooling. The Weight of Expectation Everyone expected him to become a rav. He was a good mind, but not a religious heart.

The Designed Marriage

The Designed Marriage A Second Chance The first betrothed died, and the undertaker pressed his other daughter on Pinchus. Pinchus refused and chose Hannah Hayye instead. The Price of Piety His scholarship bought him board, lodging, and a capable wife. He was to sit on the benches of the scholars and repay the family with fame. The Hidden Dissent He soon found he did not want the life he was expected to lead. The sacred books no longer fed him.

The Wandering Failure

The Wandering Failure Experiments in Living Pinchus tried an inn, a store, and a dozen occupations with no permanent success. He traveled to Tchistopol and Odessa. The New Ideas He discovered a larger Jewish world that valued education for girls as well as boys. He brought back a taste for a modern life. The Return to Polotzk He came home to find his wife had become the head of the business. Again he failed to find his place.

The American Citizen

The American Citizen Naturalization First Within three years of landing, Pinchus became a citizen of the United States. He was thirty-two and hungry for untasted manhood. The Sordid Struggle He worked at a trade he had never learned, failed as a peddler and storekeeper, and never mastered English. Yet he voted, read, and attended meetings. The Compensation If he could not enter the higher life himself, his children would. He sent them to school as a consecration.

The Ageing Breadwinner

The Ageing Breadwinner Seeking Work at a Boy's Wages His health was poor and he aged fast. He offered himself for every kind of labor, but his English and his Jewish appearance closed doors. The Steady Son Joseph's newspaper money was the only steady income. Pinchus's dreams were being carried by the next generation. The Final Justification He bought up the Heralds with Mary's poem and carried the clipping in his pocket. His own lost learning was flowering in his daughter.

Pinchus's birth and boyhood

his teen years in Polotzk

the early years of marriage

after landing in Boston

the Dover Street years