Book: The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

[sirach2v4]

the late Chaim Potok, a rabbi, has written books that have found acclaim, like his history of the Jews, and various works of fiction like My Name is Asher Lev and this book, The Chosen.

It’s about two rabbi’s sons who are very studious and bright, and we are told significant details of their high school and college years. The Hasidic teen was being groomed to follow in the legacy of six preceding generations of acclaimed rabbis, and the other wasn’t particularly oriented towards being a rabbi like his dad.

The oversimplified version of the plot is that people are not developed as by a cookie cutter, and the lives of these two youths is more complicated as they get older and start making their own choices, both heavily influenced by Talmud study and parental guidance.

A major theme in the book are two themes of Judaism, Hasidic Judaism and maybe ordinary orthodox Judaism (if I picked up on this correctly).

I’m not particularly recommending that anybody buy the book or read it in the entirety, but if you can get your hands on it, there is a homily in a Hasidic synagogue discussed in chapter seven which I do think is worth reading. The topic is God’s will and our own will, and the connection of these. Extremely simplified, the issue is that we should strive to do God’s will so that He in return will consider our will, what we want.

 

[Bonnie]

It’s an excellent book - I’ve read it several times. The sequel (can’t remember the title) wasn’t, in my opinion, nearly as good.

The movie based on the book is good, if you ignore that it’s supposed to be based on the book.

They made conflict between the father & son which just wasn’t there. There were some other problems with it, but it’s been too many years & I can’t remember them.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I have Dr. Potok’s novels over and over again over many years, and each time it seems I enjoy them as much, if not more than the first time I read them. I especially love the relationship of the fathers and the sons, and learning about Hasidic Judaism, which I never knew existed 30 some years ago.

I highly recommend these novels to CAF readers, and now I do remember reading the author passed, may he RIP.

 

[GEddie]

I’ve seen the film.

In it, the two boys meet up as a result of a playing-fields accident during WW2; one is the son of an Hasid, the other the son of a secular modernist. They become fast friends, however, the conflicting views of their fathers come to a head during the Palestine question of 1947.

ICXC NIKA

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I’ve seen the film.

In it, the two boys meet up as a result of a playing-fields accident during WW2; one is the son of an Hasid, the other the son of a secular modernist. They become fast friends, however, the conflicting views of their fathers come to a head during the Palestine question of 1947.

ICXC NIKA

I read the book a long time ago for a high school assignment. I haven’t seen the film, but the Reuben’s father is NOT a secular modernist in the book. He is actually a devout Orthodox Jew. However, there is a pretty wide chasm between “mainstream” Orthodoxy and the Hasidic branch of Orthodoxy.

However, it seemed to me that Danny’s issues with his father weren’t just about adhering to Hasidism. Danny’s father expects him to follow in his footsteps as a rabbi, and came across as very controlling compared to Reuben’s father.

 

[Bonnie]

Danny’s father expects him to follow in his footsteps as a rabbi, and came across as very controlling compared to Reuben’s father.

Controlling, yes, but in his own way, a loving father.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Danny’s father raised him in silence, an apparently old but debated technique, because he felt that his brilliant young son lacked compassion for others because of his brilliant mind, and used silence to have his son learn compassion for others. Of course, Daniel could not understand why his father quit speaking to him, and this hurt him, but it apparently had the intended effect. Reuben’s father was rather appalled at this. The two men seemed to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from each other, but the friendship of the boys had a positive effect on each other. I just loved the psychological aspects of this novel.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

However, it seemed to me that Danny’s issues with his father weren’t just about adhering to Hasidism. Danny’s father expects him to follow in his footsteps as a rabbi, and came across as very controlling compared to Reuben’s father.

This book came out at a time when I was learning about (and loving) Judaism. It was one of ‘the’ books that changed my life. Potok not only told stories, but he taught us along the way.

One issue I would like to clarify here, however, is that Danny was to follow in his father’s footsteps as the Rebbe, not just a rabbi. In Hasidism, the Rebbe is the spiritual leader of the entire community of followers. It is an inherited position so Danny was destined to fulfill that role from birth.

There was a tight control, yes, but I learned a lot about the side of Hasidism that is mystical. This book has a very special place in my life. It is lovely to see others who have loved it too.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I have the book, but have not read it. I also have had a love of Judaism since a young age.