In Brisk, Falk has comfortably settled into the life of a yeshiva-bukher, when suddenly one day, out of the blue, he receives a letter from his brother the apikoyris (freethinker) who lives in Warsaw. Aryeh-Leyb begins by telling Falk that the word consists of more than just old Jews with beards and peyos; that there is a better, richer world there for the taking; but that to get one’s share of that world, one must be armed with knowledge, with education. He is therefore sending his younger brother a little "parcel" care of a good friend of his. After cautioning Falk not to let his parents know what he is doing, Aryeh-Leyb finishes the letter by urging him to hurry, because soon the day will come when they will have to "resucue" their parents and younger siblings from the dark shtetl. From Chapter Twenty-One, here is the letter throws Falk into a state of turmoil and confusion, and ultimately changes the course of his future life: