Zlateh the Goat

Aaron hears in Zlateh’s bleating a statement that conveys the moral of the story: “We must accept all that God gives us—heat, cold, hunger, satisfaction, light, and darkness” (419). Weaving his tale through Hanukkah, the holiday of miracles, Singer reveals the mysterious way God works through the characters’ conflicts and the miracles that arise out of hardships.

Reuven, a round character, is despondent and doubtful. The winter has been unusually warm, so the villagers have had little need to buy the fur garments he makes. He needs to provide for his family but has no control over the weather. Reuven’s problem exemplifies both internal and external conflicts. His decision to sell the family’s goat reveals that he doubts God will provide cold weather any time soon. In his reaction to this hardship, Reuven struggles to see past the bleak “desert” of his financial situation. Singer uses this moment of desperation to highlight the inner conflict that comes from making difficult choices. Despite his family’s lament, Reuven decides to sell the family goat: “She was old and gave little milk. Feyvel the town butcher had offered eight gulden for her” (414). Reuven’s initial hesitation to sell Zlateh conveys his internal conflict.

Through this conflict, Singer illustrates an ethical journey. Although Reuven knows in his heart that his decision is wrong, his need to provide for his family overrules his desire to have faith that God will provide. His doubt is the driving force for the inciting incidents in this short story. Reuven struggles with both internal and external conflicts. He struggles with the weather and his decisions, but his greatest conflict is having faith in the Hebrew God, the God of Miracles. This conflict is the reason that Singer uses Hanukkah to set the atmosphere of “Zlateh the Goat.”

Like Reuven, his son Aaron struggles with both internal and external conflicts. Aaron is tasked with shepherding his beloved Zlateh to her slaughter: “Aaron understood what taking the goat to Feyvel meant, but he had to obey his father” (414). Obedience is an expectation in Hasidic communities but not a synonym for agreement. Aaron obeys his father despite his desire to save and protect Zlateh.

However, Aaron’s obedience places him and Zlateh in the center of a deadly blizzard. As the storm rages, Aaron’s conflict turns from internal to external. It’s him and Zlateh versus the blizzard—human and goat versus nature. The antagonist (the storm’s fury) arises quickly: “The sun was shining when Aaron left the village. Suddenly the weather changed. A large black cloud with a bluish center appeared in the east and spread itself rapidly over the sky” (415). The two march through the blizzard together: “Aaron had seen all kinds of weather, but he had never experienced a snow like this one” (415). Because of the warm weather, neither Aaron nor Zlateh was prepared for the icy conditions: “Aaron did not want to admit the danger, but he knew just the same that if they did not find shelter, they would freeze to death” (416). Like Reuven, Aaron finds himself in a battle with nature. Unlike Reuven, however, Aaron turns to God for help: “Aaron began to pray to God for himself and the innocent animal” (416). This illustrates the difference between Aaron and his father, emphasizing one of the story’s main themes: Faith and Doubt. Aaron’s prayer represents the power of faith, while Reuven’s decision represents doubt. Aaron’s faithful prayer is his weapon of defense against the villainous storm, and his faith is instantly rewarded when they find the large haystack, highlighting one of the story’s primary themes: The Sovereignty of the Miraculous God.

Unlike Aaron, who struggles with both internal and external conflicts, Zlateh’s antagonists are always external. She struggles in the blizzard, which challenges her faith in her humans, but unbeknownst to her, she’s also facing abandonment because of Reuven’s decision. Her beloved family is betraying her—and now she’s about to freeze to death. However, Zlateh is innocent, so she is unaware of their real betrayal. Once she’s warm and fed, she’s content, having “regained her confidence in man” (417). Zlateh’s external conflict with the weather saves her from impending slaughter.

Singer highlights each character’s problem through cause and effect to celebrate the theme of the miraculous in both Hanukkah and in “Zlateh the Goat.” The first issue is the warm weather and mild winter, which motivates Reuven to sell the goat and highlights his lack of faith. His decision places Aaron and Zlateh in danger when the two virtuous characters, Zlateh and Aaron, face a sudden, deadly storm that causes Aaron to lose his way: “He realized that he was no longer on the road. He had gone astray. He could no longer figure out which way was east or west, which way was the village, the town” (416). Like the Israelites in the desert, Aaron and Zlateh find themselves wandering, which leads Aaron to his moment of desperation. In this moment, he prays, and his prayer immediately leads him and Zlateh to their salvation, the miracle of the haystack. The haystack is food for Zlateh, another miracle, and this nutrition helps fill her udders with creamy milk, a miracle of sustenance for Aaron. This helps illustrate another of the story’s main themes: The Value of Animals.

Thus, throughout the story, Singer solves each problem with a miracle, one of which (the blizzard) is initially a problem but ultimately becomes a miracle when it saves Zlateh from slaughter—and erases the warm weather, improving the family’s financial outlook. A haystack answers Aaron’s prayer for God to save him and Zlateh from the blizzard conditions. Like the miraculous Hanukkah candle, the haystack somehow provides shelter for them both and food for Zlateh, filling her udders with enough milk for Aaron to survive the blizzard and eventually lead her back home.

“Zlateh the Goat” shows why hardships are synonymous with miracles. The characters all struggle with forces outside of themselves that cause them to look within. Through these conflicts, Singer reveals a God that provides both trials and victories.