Reuven is happy to be home from the hospital and looks forward to resuming the observance of the Sabbath. He asks his father to explain Danny’s particular sect of Judaism, Hasidism. To do that, Mr. Malter relates the history of the founding of Hasidism.
Finishing the story, Mr. Malter informs Reuven that Reb Saunders is a tzaddik with a reputation for brilliance and compassion. And just as Reb Saunders inherited the position from his father, so will the position go to Danny.
Mr. Malter tells Reuven that he has a brilliant mind but that Danny is a “phenomenon.” He says that he is happy that Reuven and Danny have become friends. Because of his great intelligence, Danny is terribly torn and lonely. Their friendship cannot but help both of them.
Waking up from a nap one Saturday afternoon after Sabbath services, Reuven sees Danny standing before him. Danny says that his father, Reb Saunders, wants to meet Reuven, so they set off for Danny’s synagogue, which is on the first floor of the Saunders family home. The boys exchange information about their families. Reuven tells Danny that his mother died soon after he was born. Danny has a younger brother and sister. He says that his family came from Russia and that the family name, Senders, was Americanized by immigration officials to Saunders.
At the synagogue, Danny introduces Reuven to his father, who asks how Reuven’s eye is healing.
Reb Saunders leads the Sabbath service; then, after he and the male members of the congregation eat, he gives a sort of sermon, incorporating passages and commentary on the Talmud. Then, as in some Jewish households where the son is at a yeshiva and the father is a learned man, Reb Saunders quizzes his son on his knowledge of Jewish history and teachings, in what seems to Reuven to be a sort of contest. Reuven is drawn into the contest when Reb Saunders asks him to find the error in a mathematical aspect of his sermon.
Speaking to Reuven after the service, Reb Saunders compliments Mr. Malter as a great scholar, whose work, however, he does not agree with. He expresses pleasure that Danny and Reuven are friends.
