The Certificate

Penniless and homeless, David Benediner, a young writer, arrives in Warsaw with two contacts: a young woman and a Zionist functionary who informs him that he has qualified for a certificate to emigrate to Palestine. With no money to make the journey he must enter into a fictitious marriage with one of the many prosperous women eager to board passage to the holy land. Grappling with romantic, political, and philosophical turmoil, David must also confront his faith when his father, an Orthodox rabbi, arrives unexpectedly in Warsaw.

With characteristic wit and candor, The Certificate examines the lives of Polish Jews in the context of events sweeping Europe in the 1920s, and reinforces Singer's reputation one of our century's greatest storytellers.