3: Sefaria source sheet, “Hakhnoses orkhim,” 2020.

3: Sefaria source sheet, “Hakhnoses orkhim,” 2020.

Students may be confused as to why the Magician would feel so presumptuous that he would just walk into the home with barely a knock. The Jewish value of hakhnoses orkhim, or welcoming strangers, is central to understanding “The Magician.” This value is at the heart of the Passover seder. As the character Chaim Yona remarks in the story, “All doors are open tonight—doesn't it say in the Passover Haggadah, 'Koyl dikhfin yeysey veyeykhul?' In plain language that means 'Let whoever is hungry come and eat'” (220).
 
Suggested Activity: Have students break into five groups, and assign each group a quote from the source sheet. Students should first read through the quote, and then try to “translate” or summarize it in more accessible language. In groups, students should return to the text of “The Magician” and find a passage that best exemplifies or explains their quote.  

Sources: Hakhnoses orkhim. Source sheet compiled by Sadie Gold-Shapiro using sefaria.org, 2020.