He was raised in New York, and actually failed in his first attempt at becoming a Rabbi, going into the field of education instead, but was inspired to try again after helping a shy and quiet young boy discover himself at a summer camp. His study is filled with papers and looks overwhelming but he seems to know where everything is. The Rabbi is a man who loves paperwork, books, and anything that can be filed. He sends cards and letters, calls to check on people and makes a concerted effort to stay in the lives of people who are generally too busy to realize that he is doing it. He appreciates the importance of human contact and reaches out to everyone he has ever met, taught or seen in his synagogue.
The Rabbi is an incredible man who has touched the lives of thousands of people. Ultimately this journey leads him not only to give a fitting eulogy, but also to set up a charity that helps homeless outreaches and churches server the homeless population of Detroit, the city of which he is a proud resident. Mitch is a man with questions, which is probably what makes him a good journalist, but he is also a man looking to find the answers that will lead him back to his faith. However, in the course of undertaking this task, which turns out to be an eight year friendship and exploration of his faith, Mitch realizes that the very things that he has rejected in his faith, and in the community of those with whom he was raised, are the things in life that actually matter and that by being the "citizen of the world" that he always aspired to be, he has done a lot, seen a lot and met a large number of people, but has no real connections to anywhere, or a community that is like an extended family. When the Rabbi asks Mitch to write his eulogy, he dreads it, and feels ill equipped to be the giver of such an important speech about a man who made a difference in the lives of so many. We do not find out that much about Mitch that we didn't already know - he's a sportswriter, he was raised Jewish - but we do find out something regarding his view of religion Mitch, a Jew, has "lapsed" since his childhood and it seems that even as a child he was a reluctant participant and made to attend religious school by his parents, not by his own spiritual need. Mitch is the narrator of the book, and is more of a conduit for the two main characters' stories rather than a character in the novel in himself. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.
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