How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
His voice, his lips, his wisp of beard, his bony fingers were animated, but give him a moment of repose and his mild blue eyes revealed a depth of sadness, a characteristic that put Leo a little at ease although the situation, for him, was inherently tense. (2)
Salzman's sadness is one of the big mysteries in the story, and Malamud puts it right out there in his description of the matchmaker's appearance. It's a good way to link appearance with character, and set a precedent for the whole dang story: what you see is generally what you get.
Quote #2
[…] the young man's distinguished face, noting with pleasure the long, severe scholar's nose, brown eyes heavy with learning, sensitive yet ascetic lips, and a certain, almost hollow quality of the dark cheeks. (4)
This isn't the description of a handsome man, and yet it reflects a great deal about who Leo is and what he does for a living. Leo looks the way Saltzman thinks a scholar should look.
Quote #3
He hesitantly inquired, "Do you keep photographs of your clients on file?" "First comes family, amount of dowry, also what kind of promises," Salzman replied, unbuttoning his tight coat and settling himself in the chair. "After comes pictures, rabbi." (10)
Salzman downplays the girls' appearance here, which is an early sign of deception on his part. It also suggests that—unlike Salzman's words—these pictures actually show the girls for who they really are. Could that be the "magic" in the barrel where those pictures are kept?