The Gift Of Knowledge In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

The Gift of Knowledge “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”-Benjamin Franklin. The characteristic of knowledge surely proves to be a characteristic worth obtaining. Knowledge allows someone to achieve limitless goals. It always prevails over ignorance, but, unlike ignorance, knowledge must be earned by working hard to learn unfamiliar and usually complicated teachings or ideas. Knowledge helps people to understand the world and creates a desire to learn more about it. Without knowledge, ignorance would obscure the complex nature of the world and cloud the beauty of the earth. Throughout the book The Chosen, knowledgeable characteristics are exhibited through Ruven Malter, David Malter, and Danny Sanders. Rueven Malter surely

David Malter knows not just information from the Talmund, but also much information about the world’s events. By combining his knowledge of the Talmund and the events of the world, he often writes extensive articles for the Jewish community. Also his knowledge of books and literature shine when he recommends countless books to Danny Sanders. One example of his knowledge shows in chapter 4 when he says to his son Rueven, “A Greek philosopher said that two people who are true friends are like two bodies with one soul.”(Pg.74) Prior to this statement he talked to Rueven about the Talmund and told him that it says that one must choose a friend. These examples surely prove that David Malter, like his son, is most definitely a knowledgeable person in several

Danny knows an unfathomable amount of the Talmund and also tons more of information that he has learned from his furtive trips to the library where he reads many, many, books. One example appears in chapter three when Danny shows Rueven his knowledge of the Talmund. ““What Talmund are you studying now?” “Kuddushin,” I said. “What page are you on?” I told him. “I studied that two years ago. Is this what it reads like?” He recited about a third of the page word for word, including the commentaries and the Maimonidean legal decisions of the Talmundic disputations.”(Pg.68)After this impressive showing of his Talmund skills, he also asks Rueven if he would like to hear him do the same except with Ivanhoe instead of the Talmund. Danny retains everything he reads and he reads a lot. Surely Danny, benefiting from his excellent memory, is an unbelievably knowledgeable person and will continue to grow in knowledge as he ages and learns