Chaim Potok is, in my mind, the finest Jewish novelist ever published. He has a way of telling the Jewish story and making it come alive in my mind in ways I can understand, even though my own upbringing was very different.
“The Chosen” is a well-crafted novel, set during World War II. Reuven Malter is the first-person character, a fifteen-year-old yeshiva boy who is being raised by his single father, a Rabbi in their congregation. While playing baseball against a neighboring yeshiva school, Reuven is hit in the face with a baseball and is rushed to the hospital. The boy who hit the ball, Danny Saunders, comes to see him, and after a rough start, the two become friends.
They represent two different factions of Judaism. Danny is a Russian Hasidic Jew, the son of a tzaddik (rabbi) Reuven’s father is a rabbi also, but they are not as rule-bound. Reuven wears sports shirts and sweaters, Danny wears a black suit. The differences go on, but at heart, they are both boys who dream of their futures and wonder what their place will be.
Danny’s father badly wants him to be a tzaddik, and has high expectations for him. His methods of instruction are harsh and often cruel, testing Danny in public, expecting him to always know the answer and to perform for the onlookers. Rueven’s father also wants Rueven to be a rabbi, but his methods are kind and gentle. Reuven often tells his father the things that have happened to him that day, and takes council from his father’s hand.
The comparison continues throughout the book until the end, when Danny’s father explains the reasons for his unkind treatment of his son. Only then is Danny able to understand his father’s methods and see the effect they have had in his life. The two boys end up on different paths, each worshiping in their own way, a bit confused about their religion and their role in the world, but finding their path.
The most touching part of the book to me was when the war came to an end and the American Jews learned what had happened to the Jews in Europe. Remember, it wasn’t until after the end of World War II that the rest of the world knew about the concentration camps. The American Jews were horrified, stunned; both fathers in this story suffered tremendously when they learned what had happened. It shook their very fibers; Reuven’s father fighting for a Zionist movement, and Danny’s father crying for the Messiah to come. I can only imagine how I would feel if I found out that six million of my brothers and sisters had met such a fate.
There is language in this book and some of the themes are dark. Nevertheless, I found it to be enlightening and mind-opening, a beautiful depiction of life as a Jew and a fine piece of literature. I highly recommend it.
(This book was published in 1967 by Ballentine Books)