Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Many Jewish (Hasidic?) traditions appear in The Chosen by Chaim Potok. All throughout the book, they play a big role in what Danny and Reuven, the main characters, must go through. Often, Danny is the one who has the traditions almost forced on him. However, because Reuven became Danny’s closest friend, much of it affects him too, at least to some extent. Danny specifically struggles throughout the book, as much of his life has been picked for him by his family according to their traditions. In The Chosen by Chaim Potok, religious traditions have a great influence throughout the story, especially to Danny, through the “dynasty”, the arranged marriages, and the silence between Danny and his father. Danny knows what it is like to feel trapped. He knows he needs to carry on his father’s work, but he does not want to. However, everyone expects that he will, because it has always gone that way. As Danny said, “‘I have no choice,’ he said again. ‘It’s like a dynasty. If the son doesn’t take the father’s place, the dynasty falls apart… I’m a little trapped’” (82). Danny (he?) does not want to break this “dynasty,” but at the same time he is determined to get free of his trapped position. By making Danny feel imprisoned and hopeless, the tradition of having…

The conflict with family and faith is big and important. Having conflict with your family can really ruin a family and break it apart. Having conflict with faith leaves you confused and lost. In two of Chaim Potok’s novels, The Chosen and The Promise we see both conflict in family and in faith In The Chosen by Chaim Potok there is a lot of conflict with family and faith. To start off with Reuven and Danny become good friends after Danny nearly blinds Reuven during their intense softball game.…

detail about the biographical information concerning Chaim Potok. She also discusses the details of Potok leaving the very traditional and strict practice of the Hasidic Jewish population. Potok would seek a less religious education as he went to the University of Pennsylvania. Then, McClymond describes the plot of The Chosen. The Chosen describes 2 young boys of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. McClymond then goes over the summary of the book as its starts with Danny hitting a line…

Chaim Potok, born February 17, 1929, was a Jewish Rabbi and author. After his Jewish education and rabbinic ordination, Potok graduated with a phd in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly afterward, he published his first book, The Chosen. In the Chosen, Chaim Potok uses setting and its description to emphasize the character’s change and growth, symbolism to convey to the reader Danny’s difficult upbringing, and in the end expresses the motivation behind such a method of…

What do I want to be when I grow up? Am I doing what I really want to do for the rest of my life? Is being a youth pastor my calling in life? Did I make the right choice to come to seminary? Why am I forcing myself to go to church? Why am I dragging myself to finish seminary? These were some of the questions that I struggle to answer throughout my four years in seminary. As a pastor’s child without a direction and purpose, I was pushed into attending Fuller Theological Seminary right…

Richard Mouw, the author of When the Kings Come Marching In, was a graduate of Houghton College. He studied at Western Theological Seminary and got his Master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Alberta. Mouw is the author of over twenty books, including The God Who Commands, The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship, and The Smell of Sawdust. He was the editor of the Reformed Journal and has served on many editorial boards. In 2007, Mouw was given the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence…

Paul Tillich was considered an intellectual German American Christian existentialist theologian, who impacted theology in the 20th century. Given his background, Paul grew under a Lutheran Pastor, Johannes his father. He studied theology and attended seminary and earned two Doctorates at the age of 21. He enlisted in the German army as a Chaplain and was placed on the deadliest post in this war. Here he wrote his father stating, “Hell is all around us. It’s unimaginable” (Taylor 2017). This…

When the Holocaust occurred in the late 1930s and 1940s, it raised a question in the Jewish communities of the role of God in trials and tribulation. Why would a good god — a merciful god — allow such atrocities to occur? Had they sinned at such an exponential level that it required such a response from God? Because at times it felt like nothing good came from the event, a new discussion emerged entitled Holocaust theology, which proved to become a collection of philosophical and theological…

What makes Buddhism unique from other religions is the way it is able to adapt and expand into various cultures. Buddhism in America is growing at a rapid rate. According to Pew Forum’s United State Religious Landscape Survey, Buddhism has climbed to the 3rd most practiced religion in America, below Christianity and Judaism. Between 1990 and 2001, Buddhism has grown 170%. This rapid growth is said to be due to the conversion of American citizens that are native born to this nation. Most…

African American individuals have made some amazing progress from the uneducated slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to effective political pioneers. A prime illustration would be President Barack Obama, the principal African American leader of the United States of America. Be that as it may, first we should ask ourselves, how did this happen? Who lead African Americans to better expectations for everyday comforts? Social equality pioneers, for example, Sojourner Truth, Harriet…