Chaim Potok

by Songül Arslan

Chaim Potok's given name was Herman Harold Potok. Chaim is his Hebrew name which means "life" or "alive." Giving an additional Hebrew name is a tradition in Jewish culture. Potok's origins lie in Poland but he was born in New York City and this city plays a central part in most of his books. His Orthodox upbringing and education shows throughout his novels as well as some personal experiences like being stationed in Korea. He died in 2002.

What made me decide to review some books of this rabbi and novelist? I had heard about his famous novel The Chosen and was curious what the book would be like. Since this was not available at the time, I started with his novella The Golem's Hand. It was interesting but hardly sparked for me. The story deals with a 98-year old grandfather who has a past he is not willing to share and has kept it a secret from his family throughout the years. When his wife dies, he decides to live near his daughter so he can see his infant grandchild as often as he wants. It is this new life that stimulates him to share his past but only to this infant who won't be able to grasp what he is saying. We learn that against the background of Stalinist Russia his hand had been a cruel weapon, an instrument of torture and Potok describes how disgusted one can be with a part of oneself.

Despite the lack of spark I felt for The Golem's Hand, I was still interested in reading The Chosen. After reading it I understood why Chaim Potok is not only an acclaimed novelist but also a gifted philosopher, theologian and historian. His The Chosen is a story about friendship. Two Jewish young men who are total opposites of each other become best friends. The difference in their upbringing is striking. One, Reuven Malther, grows up in a progressive, secular environment while the other, Danny Saunders, grows up in an extremely conservative Hasidic environment. Despite their differences in upbringing, they have a matching intelligence.

As you can expect, Reuven is a much happier person than Danny because he is not bound to anything. Danny, who has to follow in his father's footsteps and whose intelligence and craving for secular knowledge, especially psychology, carries his life as a burden. He regards his friendship with Reuven as a blessing. Throughout the book Potok offers up small gems of knowledge about Jewish traditions and religion which makes the reader culturally aware. In the end you wonder who, exactly, is the chosen one. Despite the positive connotation of the words "chosen one," this book shows that it can easily be a curse.

After finishing the book I thought about friendship for a long time and how our environment sometimes influences our choices of whom to befriend. Originating from a culturally different environment than the one I am living in, a lot of situations described in the book had a particular familiarity. Although the book was published in 1967, the ideas Potok explores in his book are quite up-to-date. Although The Chosen can be read independently, Potok has written a kind of sequel to it called The Promise where he elaborates on the same characters. I am curious to find out how their friendship intensifies.

Having become quite fascinated by the Jewish traditions Potok describes, I decided to have a go at his The Book of Lights. In this book his main character, Gershon Loran, studies the kabbalah. Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism. The word itself means "to receive, to accept." Gershon, who has lost his parents, has visions that come to him day and night. I can only interpret these visions as revelations. Again in this book there is a conflict between the secular and the conservative aspect of the Jewish religion. The kabbalah acts as the secular aspect while the talmud acts as the more conservative one. Coincidentally Potok has put two teachers in the book where each teaches one aspect. In fact, isn't there a conflict between these two aspects in Christianity and Islam as well? Potok also draws on his own experience while on duty in Korea which gives the book a kind of autobiographical touch. In Korea Gershon finally gets to know his old roommate Arthur with whom he lived more than two years without knowing what kind of person Arthur was. In the end it is clear what aspect Gershon has chosen and you totally agree. In fact, you wonder what took him so long.

After The Golem's Hand I had almost sworn off Chaim Potok forever, yet I was still a bit curious why critics were so admiring of his works him and decided I had to give him another try. I am glad I did or otherwise I would not have come to enjoy such an intellectual and yet heartfelt novelist.