Life in America
Saul had almost no money and knew almost no English (he continued to carry a heavy accent he tried hard to get rid of for the rest of his life) when he first came to the land of the American Dream. In the Boston area, he set up a similar shop to the one in Romania as a peddler selling furniture and cloths. The polyglot used his skills to sell to mostly first generation immigrants, many of whom still spoke their native language.
A traditional Jewish peddler in Boston
A Jewish family that moved from the Pale of Jewish Settlement to the United States
He was well known for his strict obligation to his Jewish values in business, a reflection of the many of the same Jewish values he learned as a child. That commitment to virtue did, for the most part, help sales, but limited his margins.
Saul's shop was one of the few stores that ran on credit. He understood many of his customers – immigrants like himself – did not have a lot of financial security. But he knew what they needed and what they wanted, and never said no to a customer, nor did Saul ever force anyone to pay.
But for the most part everyone people did give Saul what they had, at least those who had something. Even as people lost their homes and jobs, Saul never "foreclosed" on anyone. He continued to form relationships, selling at people's homes even once he had his own brick and mortar store. And through his unearthly memory and salesmanship, Saul created the foundation for a life in America.
Jewish people immigrating to America
Saul settled in Lawerence. With his wife Sarah, Saul had four children. Like many Jewish women, Sarah stopped working once she met Saul. To his family, Saul continued to preach his values of kindness, empathy, and forgiveness. He was known as the "softie" by all his children who needed a favor from a parent, but he still made sure that his children were close with one another and cared for everyone in their larger Boston family.
Besides the shop and his kids (both of which took of most of his time) he also organized many Jewish groups within Lawerence and the surrounding towns. He created a small Orthodox Temple that he was in charge of for most of his life and used his strong voice to become a cantor. While there continued to be anti-semitism and situations where violence arose in Lawerence and the surrounding towns, Saul in his "glass more than half full" attitude mostly ignored these situations and continued to live his Jewish live as he wished.
A synagogue in East Boston