In “The Quarrel,” Hersh Rasseyner (Saul Rubinek) and Chaim Kovler (R.H. Thompson) grew up together in Poland but their friendship dissolved after Chaim lost interest in religion and became a writer. World War II then tore their lives apart, as each man lost his family during the Nazi horrors.

At the war’s end, Hersh and Chaim both attempted to start new lives. While Hersh serves as an Orthodox rabbi in Montreal, Chaim is a poet living in New York. On a visit to Canada in 1948, Chaim, to his great surprise, sees Hersh taking part in a Rosh Hashanah ritual in a park; he had believed that his former comrade died in the war. Although the two men greet each other warmly, they are soon quarreling over the same issues that destroyed their friendship 15 years ago. (1992)