In Fall ’06 I took the class religions of the west, and one book I had to read for that class was Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen.” It is the story of two Jewish boys, Danny and Reuven, in 1940 who become friends after one hits the other with a baseball at their baseball game. The two boys are from different sects of Judaism, so they both are vastly curious about the way the other does things.
Their parents expect very different things of the boys. Danny is expected to take over as leader of his sect after his father, but he doesn’t want to. He is a very smart and curious boy and reads whenever he gets the chance, which he has to do in secret because his father doesn’t initially approve. Reuven is the opposite way. His father encourages him to really think about what he wants to do, but Reuven wants to be like his father and be a rabbi.
The story of the two boys and the struggles within themselves as well as with Danny and his father make this book really interesting to read. Also, this book deals with Zionism and how different the different sects dealt with a possible “homeland” for Jews. It is interesting to think that not all Jews wanted Israel to be created as a homeland. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in this topic.
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