Religious Tolerance in The Chosen Religious tolerance, one of the major topics of the world today, rarely shows itself honestly. Yet, what is religious tolerance and what qualities does it display? Honestly, Religious tolerance means holding true to one’s own beliefs, while tolerating others beliefs. Perfectly demonstrated religious tolerance does not mean agreeing with someone’s views, but instead tolerating them, if it causes no hurt toward others. Acting intolerantly of another ideas does not include speaking about one’s own ideas, but instead of hating and persecuting others because of their ideas. Beautifully is religious tolerance demonstrated by the characters of Chaim Potock’s classic, The Chosen. The Characters who demonstrate religious tolerance include David Malter, Reb Saunders, and Reuven Malter. Firstly, David Malter, the father of Reuven Malter, beautifully demonstrates religious tolerance. David is a rabbi, a teacher, a zealous Zionist. Zionism is the belief that the Jews should rebuild Jerusalem to create a Jewish state. However, many Jews such as Reb Saunders hate Zionism and slander Zionists like David. Courteously, David tolerates their persecution and though “‘he disagreed with Reb Saunders…he would …show more content…
Reb Saunders, a Hasidic Rabbi and a fierce anti-Zionist later repents of his hatred and anger land repents. His wrath was originally directed at David Malter, but later that overflowed to his son Danny’s friendship with David’s son, Reuven. He outlawed them from talking to each other and for two years they remained silent towards each other. However, later Reb repents and says “‘Reuven, I—I ask you to forgive me…my anger…at your father’s Zionism…’” (287). As the example exhibits, Reb apologizes to Reuven and repents of his hate and intolerance. Thus , at the end of the story, Reb becomes religiously tolerant of
Danny and Reuven’s relationship was a link between father and son, but this grew into something more, something life-long and unchanging. This friendship was true, it meant a lot to both of them, and their parents. However, after large disagreements in both Danny and Reuven’s religious lives and families, Reb Saunders excommunicates Reuven from the Hasidic community and Danny’s life.
One of first things Danny did when he talked to Reuven was insult him and call him an ‘apikorsim’, which is a Jew that is not following the basic rules of their faith. After the accident, Reuven refused to accept Danny’s apology and wanted to make him feel as bad as possible. He insulted him multiple times when Danny visited him in the hospital and told him to leave without even listening to him. But when he told his father about what he did, he was told to make Danny his friend and not to push him away. The next day, Danny came to visit him again. He apologized for his behavior the previous day and accepted Danny’s apology to him. After Reuven put aside his anger at the Hasidic boy they were able to become friends. It turned out that their difference of religion did not make any noticeable difference in their friendship at all, contrary to what both once
Danny and Reuven’s relationship progresses from tension in the beginning to an intimate friendship because of a mutual trust that is established. Danny says, “Sometimes I’m not sure I know what God wants though…I’ve never said that to anyone before” (80). From early on Danny feels comfortable confiding in Reuven. He shares his innermost feelings with Reuven and they form a closely knit bond. Danny and Reuven have a conversation; Reuven asks Danny, “Are you going to like being a Rabbi?” (82). Danny replies, “No, but I have no choice, it’s like a dynasty, if the son doesn’t take the father’s place, the dynasty falls apart” (Ibid.). This piece of evidence once again displays a profound trust the boys have. This conversation is a turning point for the book because Danny admits he does not want to carry on his father’s rabbinic dynasty. The fact that Danny openly shares this shocking information with Reuven shows how strong the boys relationship is. After a personal conversation Reuven narrates as he observes Danny, “I saw him begin to play absent-mindedly with one of his earlocks. We were quiet for a long
However, there is already another obstacle beginning to form Reuven does not agree at all with Rev Saunders’s methods of quizzing his son on the Talmud. Danny saw this as nothing out of the ordinary, but Reuven saw it as a cruel, unnecessary method of studying. This part of the chapter shows parts of the worldview of the narrator. Reuven is an Orthodox Jew who still honors his faith but does not follow all of the old, traditional ways of his culture. He is allowed to have secular interests and has more freedom than Hasidic Jews. Due to this fact, he has trouble understanding why Rev Saunders finds it obligatory to quiz Danny in front of the entire congregation, where there is a chance of complete and utter humiliation. Reuven expresses his view on the topic, but Danny shakes it off and replies, “It’s family tradition” (143).
Throughout time, readers have learned many different lessons from their favourite books. In The Chrysalids, John Wyndam used his story to teach his readers valuable, lifelong lessons. He makes it evident to his readers that prejudging certain people is not right. Also, he relates how change is possible, but hard to achieve. More specifically, religion often influences one’s point of view. John Wyndam’s, The Chrysalids was written with a purpose that teaches his readers about discrimination, about how change is possible, and how religion often influences one’s point of view.
The essay, America’s True History of Religious Tolerance, written by Kenneth Davis, made me realize how non-free America actually is towards religion and how people choose to practice it. It also opened my eyes on how to deal with most situations of this nature, if every arose to mo or towards any one else around me, as an American citizen
Throughout the novel, Reb Saunders proves to be a religious, rigid, yet loving character. Many times in the novel, Reb Saunders shows to be a very religious rabbi. In chapter 12, when Rueven comments on Zionism, Reb Saunders explodes in anger. He angrily yells at Rueven and tells him that Zionism is a bad ideology.
Life associated with a strictly religious society is challenging, especially when dealing with judgmental and inequality actions shown towards others. In The Chrysalids, John Wyndham demonstrates that certain people are so attached to their religious thoughts and beliefs that they reject other’s opinions, not realizing the flaws of their theories. The society in The Chrysalids blindly resists to these changes by intolerating the abnormality, making the changes more difficult to achieve positive results in the community; thus one needs to embrace the imminent change instead of fearing it. To begin, the act of intolerance is significantly displayed in the society. More specifically,
Reuven Malter is the son of David Malter, who is an activist in the Zionist movement, and is rather secular in his religious practices. Even though he is an extremely religious man, David Malter is also a practical, scientific man, often coming up with his own interpretation of the Talmud, and taking initiative for what he feels is important instead of leaving it up to God (the master of the universe?). Because he strives to be open-minded to all people and ideas – even ones he does not necessarily like – Reuven is raised with more freedom with his education and opinions. On the other hand, Danny’s father Reb Saunders is extremely traditional with his religious outlook/ideals and is a devout Hasidic Jew. Even though Danny has great respect for his father, he also believes his father is too restricted in his view of the world, stubbornly sticking to tradition and rejecting any foreign ideas. Reb Saunders’ life revolves around his religion, so much that “he would die for them both quite gladly” (Potok 188). Because of how devoted Reb Saunders is to Hasidism and the religion’s hierarchy, his son Danny becomes conflicted between following his people’s expectations to take over his father’s position when he comes of age,
Jonathan Rosen and Ari Elon are from two different worlds. Both live, however, in diaspora—Rosen in the void between the Holocaust and American plentitude, and Elon in that between the existence of a Jewish state and the inability of such a state to survive. Of course, these simple monikers do nothing truly to exemplify fully the great conflicting ideas with which these individuals deal; antiquity and modernity, talmud and Torah, life and death, exile and homeland, and, admittedly, many more dominate the situations of both authors. This is, perhaps, a testament to the condition of Jews today—ensnared between conflicting worlds, and forced into exile between disparate ideals, the Jewish people must make complex decisions as to which side
There is an obvious difference between religions being accepted and being tolerated. Tolerance is a virtue that involves self-restraint of one’s self to maintain peace en contrast to fully recognizing and respecting different ideas, people, and beliefs (Tiedemann, 85). Tolerance is a baseline attitude towards things one opposes; it is effortless and solely requires one to not explicitly impinge on another’s way of life. (Wilhelm 2)
Eagleman first describes a past incident when a well-known actor was caught drunk driving and further made negative comments about the Jews. A dispute is laid out between different parties trying to understand if the actor always felt this way about Jewish people, or it was just another alcohol-induced rant. No matter what, the actor stressed that he was indeed not speaking from his heart.
Although intolerance could be seen as distant, it occurs in our present days, as when people are intolerant towards Muslim groups in the USA. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is set in the remote 17th century; however, the themes presented in the play are certainly not so archaic as they are reflected in present events of Islamophobia, particularly after the Paris attacks of 2015. One of the themes is, as mentioned above, intolerance, which means an unwillingness to accept the beliefs or behavior of someone different. In The Crucible, the population had to comply with social and moral rules: those who were considered a threat to the common good of the town and the rules of God suffered horrible fates. The play could be considered as being against
Though the target benefactor of being raised in silence, it indirectly aided Reuven, arguably readying him for becoming a Rabbi himself. Early on in the novel, Reuven seems to know a very finite amount of information about Hasidic Jews, mostly about how they dressed and their general opinion on Jewish people who didn't worship the “proper” way. However, as he grows to know both Reb. Saunders and Danny, both as individuals as well as their relationship, he learns that not everything is exactly as it may seem.
As much as people try to avoid it, fact is that no one in this world is born equal; there is always something unique that sets one different from another. It is those differences that require us, as Barbara Jordon says, “to accept people who are different that ourselves.” Jordan emphasizes the importance of tolerance and how it helps us develop into better societies and people. During the 1930’s, different races in the United States were being discriminated against their skin tone and placed on separate levels. In more modern times, people were still being criticized for having different ideas and while acting upon them. Even all the way in Iraq, discrimination is presented once again towards Jews and their independent country. Anything contrasting oneself will never be the same as he or she would like, creating a necessity to tolerate. Barbara Jordan's quote helps reveal that tolerance is essential to avoid conflict, to unite with others, and to change for the better.