In Chapter 15 of The Devil's Arithmetic, Leye explains that Rivka organized a ring for the blokova, allowing Hannah to have a decent job in the kitchens. Rivka and Hannah have an exchange regarding Leye's explanation in which Rivka essentially tells Hannah to "pay it forward," an idea that prompts people to do good for others. Please provide your feelings on the following excerpt, drawing connections to your own life or other areas of study in the Sixth Grade.
When Hannah tried to thank Rivka, the girl only smiled and shrugged away the thanks. "My mother, may she rest in peace, always said 'a nemer iz nisht keyn geber,' a taker is not a giver. And a giver is not a taker either. Keep your thanks. And hand it on." She said it gently, as if embarrassed.
Hannah understood her embarrassment and didn't mention it again, but she did try to pass it on....
When Rivka says "a taker is not a giver" it kind of explains why she was basically telling Chaya, no thanks needed. Rivka did something nice for Chaya, but she does not ask for anything in return. Also, I make a connection to the Golden Goblet, when Ancient gave Ranofer coins, when he was barely getting along himself. Also, Heqet, Ancient, and Ranofer gave things, and didn't expect anything in return.
ReplyDeleteI think that Rivka has been there for so long that it is a routine for her to be nice to people. She just wants to help the others so that they can live a happy life. She knows that she's going to be there till she dies, and she practically has no family left. She just wants to make others happy, because her life in the holocaust is seemingly as good as it gets. She can’t stand to see another person die in the holocaust, so she wants to help the people she can. This reminds me of the time when I went to summer camp and made a good friend. She told me that it was hard for her school friends to go to camp with her, and it's hard to make friends at summer camp. She called her summer camp "friends" summer friends. They were just people to keep her company, not to love forever. It was a basic routine for her, and she didn't care if she was happy, just that she had someone to talk with.
ReplyDeleteI think what Rivka is trying to tell them that nowadays, it is the least they can do for eachother even outside the camps, friendly neighbors wouldn't have don something so caring. I think that being in the camps have made Rivka a better person. For the part about a giver not being a taker I can't really understand but i think that it means that even though givers have done good to people, they will not ask for anything in return.
ReplyDeleteRivka is basically saying that the thanks Hannah or Chaya is trying to give her will be needed for use later. Even though deep down Rivka needs comfort and thanks after her family's death, she denies the truth of her destiny. She otherwise, distorts her future and saves many lives. While explaining the rules, she considers her life, but also helps as much as she can contribute. The children can thank her and she will be happy, but she soon learns that she will not change by just thanks. Even though the Blakova can't recognize their real age she still tries to fit in.
ReplyDeleteHannah then learns much more useful skills then just weeping. Rivka soon becomes a great friend and tells her her history. After the revealing of the truth Hannah tries very hard to survive after that. The reason why she was trying hard was after the weak boy's incident. He was then burned in the oven and Hannah soon realized why she had to seal her thanks. Rivka has been through so much, so she realized that she would not change rivka but she can change someone else's words.
I think what Rivka means when she says a taker is not a giver is, that somebody who takes, does not give to others, but a person that gives, does not expect anything in return, such as a thank you. When she says keep your thanks and pass it on, she means do not thank her, but try to make other people happy. Rivka is saying that in the camp, they must all help each other if they want to get out alive. This connects to 6th grade, because we all must help each other, and show each other respect. At home, our parents watch over us, and at least my parents don't want me to pay them back, they are just trying to teach me to become succesful and happy and to pass it on to my kids one day. All in all, it is important to help others no matter what the situation.
ReplyDelete-Veronica
I think that the message Rivka is trying to share to everyone when she says," A taker is not a giver,a dn a giver is not a taker", is that someone who takes should not give back, yet a giver should not take again either. When Rivka also says to hand it on, I think her message is to tell everyone that we should all help each other in this terrible death camp, and if anyone is selfish, all of them will die.
ReplyDeleteI think that when Rivka said "a taker is not a giver and a giver is not a taker", that she meant if you give your time for the people who need you, you will feel good enough to not to take anything in return. I have experienced this feeling just yesterday, when I was helping out in a shelter. All of the homeless people from that shelter all got served a nice Thankgiving dinner with a nice cold beverage. They all got to feel what it is like to have a nice pleasant Thanksgiving meal once again. Giving of my time and effort to help those in need was reward enough and I needed nothing more in return.
ReplyDeleteNICOLE
ReplyDeleteI think that "a taker is not a giver and a giver is not a taker" means that one who takes and consumes, does not give, and one who gives does not need anything back. To Keep your thanks and hand it on means to be inspired to give to others, to make them feel good, so that they will pass it on and "pay it forward". For example, if somebody does something nice for you, you might want to pass on your thanks and give to someone else who will pass on their thanks as well. At the death camps, they needed to work together, and stay motivated, so paying it forward would grow a healthier, happier community, which what was needed in the death camps to keep everyone's spirits up.
I agree with Kari. I think that when Rivka said "a taker is not a giver," she is simply telling Chaya no thanks is needed. Rivka has been through a lot and she knows that the Holocaust is not the happiest of times. When you give somebody a gift that is from the heart, you are not expecting anything in return. This is what I think "a taker is not a giver" means. Rivka has seen many deaths and many unhappy people, but she knows to stay alive you do not need items in return for a good deed. Concentration camps are a place of torture, its not like Christmas where you get presents from everyone in your family. A good deed is the best someone can do in this situation. Rivka did something that Chaya will be thankful for the rest of her life. Chaya probably feels the need to do something nice in return, but there is not much to do besides showing gratitude. When Rivka said "a taker is not a giver," Chaya knows that Rivka is expecting nothing in return.
ReplyDeleteI think that when Rivka said "a nemer iz nisht keyn geber, or 'a taker is not a giver,' " she meant that one may accept a gift, but returning the favor isn't necessary. If Chaya were to now help Rivka in any way, such as saving her life, Rivka wouldn't have to pay back the favor. I think that "a taker is not a giver" means that if someone does you a favor, don't worry about paying them back, because you will probably just worry and feel bad. If Chaya tries to "pay back" Rivka with a favor, she might go out of her way to do it, and accidentally get herself killed. Chaya should listen to Rivka, or she might be killed. The words "a taker is not a giver" could mean many things, but I think it probably means that since she is taking something, she shouldn't return the favor.
ReplyDeleteI think that when Rivka say "A taker is not a giver", she's basically saying keep your good luck and good fortune to share with others. Also, i think that she did that Rivka "organized" the ring because Chaya was her friend and she wanted them both to make it out of the horrible concentration camp. I think it really makes Chaya realize that her agreement with Gitl never to cry again is really a good thing. So all in all, I agree with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteRavin
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Madison and Kari.When Rivka says "A giver is not a taker", she is really saying I don't want anything in return to Chaya. Even though Chaya tried to thank Rivka. I make a connection to real life because my friend always does nice things for me but she never wants anything in return, even though I try to do something nice back. Also when my family does something nice for me I always try to do something nice for them too.
LILLIANA
ReplyDeleteI think that when Rivka says "a taker is not a giver" it means that she is not expecting anything in return. She is saying that no thanks is needed. It's like a routine for her with helping people and it makes her happy that she is doing it. It's like when I give Christmas presents and feel happier giving than getting some of my own. Rivka probably feels the same way.
I think that when Rivka quoted her mother, "A nemer iz nisht keyn geber," she meant for Hannah to give to others and not expect anything in response. The only thing that maybe would be given back would be something that you can't really keep, except for in your heart. This connects to when I was in Hawaii and I gave my friend a basket made out of woven palm fronds that I won at a luau. I gave it to him, and didn't expect anything in return. Of course, he graciously accepted it, but kindly forced me to take it back later in the vacation. This is also like in The Golden Goblet, when the baker's boy gives Ranofer an extra loaf out of sympathy and expects nothing but a thank you in return.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my peers..."A taker is not a giver" simply means you should not expect something back if you give someone something else. If you give it from the goodness of your heart and with good intentions, personal content should be the greatest gift returned to you. But "A giver is not a taker" means that one who gives does not even require thanks. I hope that we all live by this simple law of conscience for these words truly are wise.
ReplyDeleteNOEL C.
ReplyDeleteI think that she is talking about that nobody in the camps don't really have anything so give without expecting something else. She also knew that Hannah was a new comer and even if she asked for something in return, Hannah wouldn't have anything to give. When she said a taker is not a giver she meant that if someone does something helpful for you, you do something nice for someone else, and "hand it on." I can relate it to life, be generous and give to the ones who have nothing and expect nothing in return except happiness. If someone gives you happiness, use it to bring someone else happiness.
When Rivka said, "A nemer iz nisht keyn geber," or a taker is not a giver, she was saying that you shouldn't give something to someone just so you could get something in return. Instead she said that a giver is not a taker. That means someone who is generous wouldn't take anything in return for their kindness. The person who received the object should give to someone else. Last Christmas, my family and I wrapped about 200 presents for the foster care children center which then delivered them to poor, homeless children under their care. We did this not so we could get something in return, but for the children who aren't as lucky as we are.
ReplyDeleteWhen Rivka says,"a taker is not a giver,and a giver is not a taker," she means that givers want their friends and family to be happy which will make them happy, and takers just want to be greedy. In this case, since the camps are a nighmare that will never end, she doesn't want Hannah to thank her, but to pass her happiness originally to Rivka, to someone else in misery while she can. This reminds me of a movie called November Christmas. There was a family with a child dealing with cancer, and they wanted to make the child happy as long as they could. They scheduled all of the holidays earlier to make sure she could enjoy them and a man down the street, saw what they were trying to do. So, he sent pumpkins to their house in summer and let them pick a Christmas tree in October all for free. He didn't want money or thanks, all he wanted was the family to pass their happiness to their child. Both Rivka and the man in the movie are very generous people, who just wan to see their friends/family have some joy, before they can't any longer.
ReplyDeleteI have read the rest of my classmates' blog responses and I agree with most of them. A taker is not a giver means that a person doesn't always have to give something in return for what they took/where given. Instead, they should pass on the goodness. For example, although Rivka did a good deed to Hannah, all she wishes is for Hannah to do something good for someone else. When I was little, I remember reading a story about a boy who helps a woman pick up her apples after she dropped them. The boy just wanted her to pass on the good deed instead of a reward.It continues on in a circle until finally, the good deed returns to him.
ReplyDeletewhen rivka said a taker is not a giver she meant that someone who takes things will probably not give back but they should do good deeds. a giver is not a taker means that someone who is kind and giving does not want something in return for doing a good deed. i also agree with sam and the other classmates.
ReplyDeletesent from rohan
oops forgot my connection i connect it to the golden goblet where heqet and ancient are super kind to share their food but do not want anything in return.
ReplyDeletegot a gmail account
I think that when Rivka says that "A taker is not a giver and a giver is not a taker,"she meant that people who take things do not normally give things on to other people, and generous people who donate time and money never want or expect anything in return. Rivka is the type of person where it is second nature to give and not take anything in return. She is an extremely generous person for organizing a ring for the blokova in order to get Hannah a good job in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThis is also connected to my life, because I try to pay it forward. Once, we were in Rite Aid and the lady in front of us forgot her wallet, and went to get it from her car. While she was gone, my mom and I decided to check out and pay for her items as well as ours. The clerk looked surprised and asked us what he should tell the woman. We told him to tell her to just pass it on by being kind to someone else in her life. A random act of kindness is far more powerful than a planned one.
When Rivka says, "A taker is not a giver," it means that someone who just takes thinks doesn't give things. It also means thats in the consentration camps, people needed to give things with out getting thanks to survive. They needed to share with others and always be generous. Whenever someone is generous, it makes someone else happy, and happiness is what people needed to survive in the consentration camps. When people give to other people, you should still give thanks, but sometimes, there was no time to give thanks in the camp.
ReplyDeleteWhen Rivka told Hannah of what her mother would say when she was alive and that a taker is not a giver, I think that was her way of telling Hannah that she was now a trusted friend and accepted in her heart. I believe this because first off, she was telling Hannah about what her deceased mother would say, and because her mother is dead, and it must be hard to speak of her when she died in the camp, and it was almost like they bonded with each other when in the passage, it said that she was almost embarrassed to be informing Hannah about the phrase and the importance of it, and Hannah had felt the same way when Hannah had gone to open the door for the prophet Elija at the passover Seder and she met Gitl and Shmuel and she didn't know them or known that she had just traveled through time and into the life of Chaya for whom she was named after.I also think that when she said to keep your thanks and hand it on, I assume it meant that it is exceedingly hard to be grateful in a death camp, so she shouldn't waste her thanks on such a small deed, even though it wasn't really small at all.
ReplyDeleteJONATHAN V.
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that merely the survival in the camp has made a resounding impact on Rivka's life, that when something as profound as that took place it gave Rivka the reason to be more appreciative of anything, no matter its size or importance. Even though the statement, "a taker is not a giver", is not always true, the perspective in which Rivka choses to organize this is due to the fact that the nazis have taken everything from her, (her family even!) and given nothing in return. When something this drastic changes your life, you begin to realize how precious life is, and how to give
something without the eagerness of wanting something in return.
I think that when Rivka told Hannah to pass on her thanks, she not only meant to pass it on to other living beings, but perhaps god as well.
Thanks for life, and the continuation of it... So long as it may be. Nothing in my life has happened so far that has taken this profound a step toward being thankful, however now that I have read and processed the information in the Devil's Arithmetic, I shall strive to be eternally grateful and compassionate to all friends and family, for even the most simple gifts of life.
MONYA B.
ReplyDeleteI think what Rivka means by "paying it forward" is saying that instead of receiving something from someone then asking them what they want in return, just do something for someone else as your life flows on. This quote is also related to when Rivka also says, "a taker is not a giver" because when someone gets something, there isn't really a need to give them something in return, because when someone gives you something, they should feel good about it, and not expect anything in return right away, even though a person may or may not give them something in favor of their kindness. One connection that I can make is when I was younger, I gave one of my most treasured stuffed animals that I went to sleep with every night to my brother, who was younger at the time as well. He loved it so much, even though he had his own stuffed animals and it made me feel happy. One night, he came up to me and asked me if I wanted one of his race cars (which he loved at the time), but just giving him the stuffed animal and feeling good about it was a gift to me, and I told him that it was very kind of him to ask if I wanted something, but that I already had a gift from him, more valuble than anything. I think the way I felt good about giving my brother something was the way Rivka felt when she gave the ring to the blokova and told Hannah later.
JEWELYN P.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone gives you something and ask for nothing, that is pretty much saying that they are giving out of the kindness of thier heart. when someone takes, and you ask for nothing, that is showing you are giving out of the kindness of your heart. giving and asking for something is pretty much like when a flower gives a seed to the ground, the the flower asks for more nutrients and more water so it can make more seeds. That is pretty much life but if you think of it like someone giving and expecting payment, it is pretty much the same thing. giving out of the kindness of your heart does not mean you give anything, give something that the person you are giving it to would want. when Hannah got the job in the kitchen, showing that she wanted to give back, shows that she is grateful for what she has, and that she wants to show her thanks.
When Rivka says a taker is not a giver and a giver is not a taker, she means you shouldnt just take things without trying to give back to someone else and if you give things you shouldnt expect something in return. When my brother shaved his hair off to help his friend that had cancer he didnt do it to get thanks he did because it was the right thing to do and to help raise money.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU. THIS BLOG POST CLOSED AT 11:59 p.m. ON 12/9/10.
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