This conversation with present later as a schism, especially when the rabbi is implicated (although there’s little doubt in his guilt) of a murder that happens near the temple, and a key piece of evidence ends up in his car. They are frustrated because while he’s a competent rabbi, he’s not very social, mostly looking to offer services, help with issues, and lead the meeting. The novel then cuts to a discussion with the board members of the congregation who employs the rabbi. This sets the tone of the rabbi applying Talmudic scholarship to address a contemporary issue. Then he suggests that the owner is not responsible either as it’s a new car with a default (the oil leak). The rabbi calmly suggests that because the man was driving the woman as a favor to the owner, he’s not responsible. It’s a new car and the owner is apoplectic. The car ends up getting fried from an oil leak. They tell a story about a ski trip in which one of the men feeling under the weather offers to drive one of the women home in an urgent situation. He even tells them they don’t have to abide. The rabbi offers to hear their situation and offer his opinion. They are looking for a resolution on a conflict. This novel begins with a discussion between a couple members of a Jewish congregation and their rabbi. Just a strange little blend of a Chaim Potok novel, a non-Catholic JP Powers story, and an Agatha Christie mystery.
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