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Reuven Malter And Danny Saunders In The Chosen By Chaim Potok

624 Words3 Pages

In The Chosen by Chaim Potok, two boys named Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders live fairly dissimilar lives in New York during the 1940’s. While both belong to Orthodox Jewish families, Danny’s family believes in Hasidism, an isolated sect with strict rules. They go to different schools and attend different synagogues. What could bring them together? Ironically, it takes a baseball game. This irony continues throughout the book; specifically in their extraordinary friendship, their diametrical fathers, and their exchanged careers. When Danny and Reuven first meet, their schools play against each other in a baseball game. Evident tension bordering on hatred simmers between the Hasidim on one team and the Apikorsim on the other. Danny hits the …show more content…

Mr. Malter teaches at an Orthodox Jewish high school and writes religious articles. Reb Saunders’ congregation reveres him as their tzaddik, or spiritual leader. Though these differences seem worth noticing, more substantial ones appear as the story continues. While Israel forms as a political state, Mr. Malter works hard and long as a lead Zionist supporter. Meanwhile, Reb Saunders violently opposes this and prohibits Danny from speaking to Reuven ever again. “Reb Saunders didn’t mind his son reading forbidden books, but never would he let his son be the friend of the son of a man who was advocating the establishment of a secular Jewish state” (231). But Danny and Reuven manage to communicate by looks and gestures. Even though their fathers actively resist each other’s beliefs, they support each …show more content…

The fact that Danny and Reuven stay friends through their own and their fathers’ differences is surely ironic, but it also shows their character. Even though their chosen careers may take them far from each other, they will most likely keep that friendship alive in the sequel. It is interesting to note the irony of their relationship when one knows that God orchestrates all things according to His purpose. Chaim Potok may not have been a Christian, but with a Jewish background, he must have known this. God’s plan in the lives of His people is always the best plan for them, yet they pursue their own way. Isn’t that ironic? The people of God should trust Him more. After all, He loves them, He saved them, and He governs the

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