How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Call me Mr. Finkle. I'm not yet a rabbi."
Salzman said he would, but instead called him doctor, which he changed to rabbi when Leo was not listening too attentively. (11-12)
Everyone thinks of Leo as a rabbi even though he's still studying. It bugs him. A lot. But it's not just humility. Later on, we learn that Leo's relationship with God is… problematic. So this exchange is a good piece of foreshadowing as well as a chance to set up Leo's religious turbulence.
Quote #2
Perhaps a cloven-hoofed Pan, piping nuptial ditties as he danced his invisible way before them, strewing wild buds on the walk and purple grapes in their path, symbolizing fruit of a union, though there was of course still none. (96)
This is an interesting symbol because Pan is an ancient Greek deity—nothing Jewish about him. And yet Salzman is compared to Pan because of his god-like efforts to guide the couple towards romance. Sure, Salzman's kind of powerful but he is most definitely not a demi-god.
Quote #3
Leo, after a time, slowly replied, "I was always interested in the Law." "You saw revealed in it the presence of the Highest?" (105-106)
Wait, so God is just a rule-maker to Leo? He just tells us where to go and what to do? The story seems to ultimately suggest otherwise: that God guides us in the right direction but leaves the choices us to us.