Pinchus's Journey from Scholar to Citizen

The private destiny of Mary Antin's father, who fled a failed scholarly life in the Pale and redeemed it through his children's education.

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The Yeshiva Prodigy of Yuchovitch

The Yeshiva Prodigy of Yuchovitch A Scholar in the Making Pinchus entered heder at five and was a yeshiva student at eleven. His grandmother carried him on her back through the snow when he had no shoes. The Family's Hope Everyone prophesied he would be famous. His scholarship was to be his fortune. The Misplaced Vocation He had a good mind, but not a religious heart. Piety was imputed to him because he read Hebrew well.

The Marriage Bargain

The Marriage Bargain The Undertaker's Daughter Pinchus was first betrothed to an undertaker's daughter with three hundred rubles, but she died. The undertaker offered his thirteen-year-old daughter instead. Choosing Hannah Hayye Pinchus insisted on a rival match with Raphael's daughter. He had seen her only at a distance in the store and was satisfied. The Covenant The marriage contract was signed after a noisy family council. Pinchus was to study and pray while his wife's family supported him.

Failure as a Rav

Failure as a Rav The Hungry Scholar Pinchus felt no hunger for the Law, only a hunger for life. He became lax in the synagogue and drew the family's reproach. A Man Without a Trade When his father-in-law demanded he support his family, he failed as an innkeeper and storekeeper. He traveled to Tchistopol and Odessa, working odd jobs. The Modern Man Returns His travels brought back a taste for a wider life. He saw that education, not piety, was the way to redeem his children.

The Escape to America

The Escape to America The Last Door Closes Poverty and illness had ruined the family, and the expulsion of Jews from Moscow shook the Pale. Pinchus saw emigration as the last chance. The Westward Movement He traveled with borrowed money to a German port and was forwarded to Boston by an emigrant aid society. He went as a soldier into battle, without means or plans. The Vision in the Letter His pre-sailing letter was full of elation and a hint of triumph. America became a promise to his waiting wife and children.

The Redemption Through Children

The Redemption Through Children Naturalization and Consecration Almost his first act in America was to apply for citizenship. He led his children to school as if delivering them to a sacred altar. Learning by Proxy Pinchus could not master English or find steady work, but his children would be students. They would fill his house with books and intellectual company. Pride in Mary He boasted of Mary's progress, bought up all the Heralds with her poem, and carried clippings in his pocket. His sacrificed learning flowered in her.

Pinchus's boyhood in Yuchovitch and Polotzk

Pinchus's late teens in Polotzk

the first years of marriage

when Mary Antin was about ten

the Chelsea and Boston years