The Chosen (1967)

I had to read this for school. I think in high school. But I remember liking it a lot. ( )

I had to read this for school. I think in high school. But I remember liking it a lot. ( )

For a book that started off with a softball game (*yawn*), I found myself REALLY REALLY intrigued by the characters in this book. This book made me think a LOT about a lot of things.

"The Talmud says that a person should do two things for himself. One is to acquire a teacher...[the other is to] choose a friend...two people who are true friends are like two bodies with one soul."

I loved the story of Danny and Reuven and their friendship. They started off the bitterest of enemies, but they developed a deep, powerful friendship. They came from different backgrounds and had VERY different upbringings, but they found that they had this incredible ability to communicate with each other—to understand each other. I love that idea, and I really believe that no matter how different two people are, you can always find SOME common ground with them and learn from them.

Another thing this book really makes you think about is how you teach your children. The juxtaposition between the two boys and their fathers is STRIKING. Reuven's father is loving and supportive and the two of them talk openly and honestly about life and religion. They study the Talmud together... yadda yadda... Quite idyllic. But Danny's father... is raising him by a method just known as "silence". Basically he just doesn't talk to Danny at all. It's this HUGE question the entire book long: "Why on EARTH is Danny's father so awful?" And in the end, you DO get an explanation as to WHY he has chosen this particular method of child-rearing... And I can see it. I think it's BOGUS, mind you. But at least you know WHY... And you can finally see that his father really DOES love him... and he did the best he knew how, you know? It was crap, but it SORTA worked.... *shrugs*

I'm sure there are many more things I thought about while reading this book... But it was like a week ago, so most of those thoughts have moved on, but there is one more thing—less philosophical... more concrete:

It's funny how you can know something, but still, someone can describe it in a way that makes you think about it differently, you know? I know that the Holocaust was a HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE tragedy, but WOW, what if I'd been an American Jew at the time? That was a completely different mindset to put myself in while contemplating the Holocaust. What if your country was fighting in this terrible war, and then, you're so excited that it's finally over... only to find out that the enemy had been systematically torturing and killing your people? It's mind-blowing.

And then on top of that, the idea that the remaining Jews wanted to find some kind of meaning in the genocide—find something that would mean that all of those people didn't die in vain, you know? And you had some groups of Jews who found that meaning in the establishment of Israel and some people bitterly opposed it. That historical perspective REALLY struck a chord with me, and it also saddened me quite a lot. In the wake of such a tragedy, you would hope that people would stick together, you know? But there was a bitter feud created. I was glad, though, that once Israel was established, people calmed down and reconciled themselves to the idea...

All-in-all, it was a thought-provoking book about friendship and parenting and religion and devotion. Good stuff. ( )

Very hard cheese to read this and try to be sympathetic to both Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter. If the insights into Hasidic and otherwise orthodox Jewish culture are accurate, it is depressing. This is a window into the sad distraction of so many human beings with the limitations and constraints of their culture and religion. It is difficult to think of Danny or Reuven living a productive, exuberant, joyous and emotionally/morally satisfying life. Their religion and culture puts too many obstacles in their path. ( )

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