Wisdom In The Chosen By Chaim Potok

Silence is hard for Danny and Reuven. Because of the silence, Danny wasn’t able to properly communicate.in “the chosen” by Chaim Potok it Reuven’s father says, “Reb Saunders son is a terribly lonely boy. There is literally no one he could talk to.”(110). The way Danny was raised made him feel like he can’t depend on people and ask for help. The silence also hurt Reuven in his college grades and his attitude. “It was an ugly time and it began to affect

At the beginning of the novel, their whole friendship wouldn't have started if one, Reuven didn't listen to his urging father and forgave Danny, and two, if Danny didn't stubbornly persist in visiting Reuven in the hospital, where he patiently waited for him to vent his anger. "Also, yesterday I hated him; now we were calling each other by our first names. I sat and

“Reuven, he has already talked to Danny about it, he has talked to Danny through you” (pg 101)

The relationship between Danny and Reuven is a very big theme in The Chosen. Danny and Reuven are two boys who have grew up within a few blocks of each other, but in two entirely different worlds. They meet for the first time in at a school baseball game between their two Jewish schools. Even though at first their only feeling for each other is one of hatred, they eventually get over their differences and become the best of friends. They learn a lot about each other and about the others life and religion. The boys’ fathers have very different views and that’s gets them in trouble. Danny’s father disagrees with Reuven’s father’s point of view on a certain topic, and forbids Danny from ever seeing Reuven again. After some time Reb gets over himself and permits Danny to see Reuven again. This situation goes back to the fathers’ ways of raising their child and their view on their religion.

Danny views Orthodox Jews as unholy Jews. “I told my team we’re going to kill you apikorsim this afternoon.” (Danny Saunders 33). Danny hits a ball that hits Reuven in the eye, shattering his glasses and lodging a shard of glass in his pupil. Danny visits Reuven in the hospital to apologise for almost blinding him. Danny wants to strike a friendship with Reuven, but Reuven initially rejects him. However, over the next few days Reuven changes his views on Danny and becomes friends with him. “You did a foolish thing Reuven…You remember what the Talmud says. If a person comes to apologize for having hurt you, you must listen and forgive him”.(David Malter 94). Thus, a friendship is born out of animosity and continues to blossom.

Danny’s father feels like this silence will make Danny become a better individual and teach him about compassion. However, Danny’s father does not realize how much this silence hurts Danny and how it causes him suffering. Even though Danny isn’t suffering physical pain like Reuven did in the beginning of the book, he is however, suffering emotionally, which to some extent, hurts just as much, if not more than physical pain. For a long time, Danny doesn’t understand his father’s methods of interacting or treating him like the reason why he won’t talk with him outside of their faith. Danny asks himself the “why,” but still doesn’t have any answers. Throughout the book, both Reuven and Danny go through suffering. Even though their suffering is different, it does not lessen the pain that they each face throughout this book.

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 represent deeply committed friends. Their live intertwine when historical circumstances , religious realities, and their father's differences in child rearing dramatically affect their respective senses of security and happiness.

After Reuven initially wakes up, Danny visits him in the hospital to apologize. “‘I am sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘I’ll just bet you are,’ I told him. He…turned and walked slowly away.” After Reuven tells his father of the events, his father tells him that he should have listened. This response on David’s part initially caused Reuven to listen to Danny when he returned the second time.

Reb confides in Reuven in hopes that Reuven will share his wisdom with Danny. Reuven doesn’t understand how Reb is using him until the end of the book. Reb attempts to shine light on Reuven when he says, ‘It is never pleasant to be a buffer Reuven’ (Potok 170). Reb continues to speak to Reuven, “You have become a

On the other hand, Reuven and David mutually support the notion that the lines of communication between them should always be open. Whenever Reuven struggles with a problem or simply a question, regardless the significance, he comes directly to his father for assistance. David listens intently and offers a few suggestions or delivers a thorough answer to his son’s query. For example, when Reuven wonders about Danny, David answers with a lengthy and detailed account. This demonstrates not only the comfort they bear in talking to each other but also the patience they’ve developed that has stemmed from their communication. Despite their lack of communication, Reb Saunders and his son share the same admiration, respect, and trust for each other that are consistent with Reuven’s and David’s relationship.

The great opportunity also developed Danny a sense of compassion and sympathy for Reuven at the hospital room. “Before you tell me how much you hate me,' he said quietly, `let me tell you that I'm sorry about what happened.” (62). Reuven refused to accept the apology, because of how much Danny wanted to kill him. However when Mr. Malter visits Reuven, he tells him to accept the apology because it was a genuine one.

In all of their conversations, Mr. Malter seeks to pass his moral wisdom onto Reuven. At the beginning of the novel, after Reuven refuses to listen to Danny’s apology, his father visits him at the hospital to discuss his

For example when Reuven notices that Danny is different he begins to evaluate danny by saying “ The way he acts and talks doesn’t seem to fit what he wears and the way he looks… It’s like two different people. ”{page 75} In other words Reuven is interested in Danny and he wants to continue to explore Danny’s thoughts and religious beliefs. Then comes the day when Reuven demonstrates how good of a friend he is. He begins to question how Danny could have had a such a astrochis day and still be able to smile and joke around when they get together.

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver (King James Version, Prov. l6:16). “ True wisdom remains one of the hardest traits to find in people, however, some still hold this valuable attribute. In Chaim Potok's renowned novel, The Chosen, Mr. Malter, Danny, and Reuven all occur in the story frequently. Although, they have very different personalities they all have one thing in common: wisdom. Danny and Reuven might not have lived as long as Mr. Malter, nonetheless they still remain extremely wise in their ways of thinking.