After Monica leaves Gloria alone at a Portland bus stop, Gloria learns about the Jewish people...from 3 skinheads. A short time after that, Gloria meets Sam Silverstein. Sam is a sofer, a Jewish man who hand-makes the Torah, the holy scripture. Sam is amazed that Gloria does not know the truth about the holocaust and encourages her to learn about it. Monica gets a job at the Portland Daily News as an editorial writer, where she works with Sam's daughter, Rachel ""Silver."" Rachel is the paper's editorial cartoonist but her job is in jeopardy because it isn't edgy enough. Monica also notices Rachel's extensive ""personal collection"" of cartoons depiciting her father and the Jewish faith in unflattering light. When Rachel invites Monica over to the family dinner to be her ""human shield"" Monica quickly learns how deep the wounds are between Sam and Rachel. The next day, Rachel puts one of the ""personal jabs"" in the paper and immediately her panel, ""Chutzpah!"" is the hit of Portland.