The Devil's Arithmetic Notes

Hannah/Chaya

The main character who experiences a time travel journey while celebrating Passover.

Aunt Eva/Rivka

Hannah's relative in the present who was involved in the historical setting.

Shmuel

Chaya’s cousin who is getting married to a girl from a neighboring village.

Fayge

Shmuel's bride.

The Blokova

A character in the camp who gives orders and dislikes Jews.

Commandant Breuer

A character associated with the concentration camp, responsible for the initial selections.

Jewish traditions

Cultural practices that Hannah initially finds boring and embarrassing

Concentration camp

A prison camp where Jews and other persecuted groups were held, forced into labor, subjected to inhumane conditions and experiments, and/or killed by the Nazis during World War II.

Matzoh

An unleavened bread used during Passover that is hidden by Aaron.

Cattle cars

The transport used to take prisoners to concentration camps.

Escape plan

An attempt by the adults in the camp to leave the camp, which ultimately fails.

Number tattoos

The permanent identification marks given to prisoners in the concentration camps.

Hannah's transformation

How Hannah’s experiences connect her to Chaya’s memories and history.

Rivka's lessons

Teaching the girls about organizing things in the camp.

Tzipporah

A character who does not wake up in the barracks one morning.

Grandpa Will

Hannah's grandfather who displays symptoms of PTSD.

New Rochelle, New York

The town in New York where Hannah lives with her family

Shtetl

A small Jewish village setting in the past where much of the story takes place.

Predictions about the future

The assumptions Hannah makes about the outcomes of her time in the past.