The Mind and Faith

The one line from the book that really struck me was Rabbi Saunders lamenting about his son, "Why did he have to be so brilliant?" as if intelligence is somehow an enemy of faith. For me personally, relating to people (or for that matter, God) has been a challenge for me all my life. I know a lot about Christian theology and Christian history. I have some understanding of how Christianity compares to other world religions, in the sense of how "our Truth" compares to "their truth." I have tried desperately to understand what makes Christianity's "One God" and Truth and teachings different from any other mainstream world religion, to develop an open and understanding world view, and it has left me a desperate agnostic. I had a lot of understanding for Rabbi Saunders at the end, talking about why "heart" was such a desperately important thing to have developed, and why an intelligent mind can so easily choke that out.

Foster Alley

Everyone of you is chosen

I know that you will be talking a lot about the major themes of The Chosen in your first bit of time at JBU. So, instead of hashing those out, I want to encourage you to take advantage of this summer reading and really soak in what you’ve read this summer.

I am not a history major, nor am I an English major; so, on the surface The Chosen holds no true appeal to me. However, I chose to study Intercultural Studies and Cinema because I have an ‘obsession’ with humanity. I love to watch humans interact, I love to listen to their stories, and I love to watch them grow into the people they were meant to be. Those factors are what kept me reading this book. I loved watching both Reuven and Danny be brave. They both looked into different ideas and examined each of them. Each new idea, whether accepted or rejected, made them into new people. They grew because they knew and cared about other humans, family, Jews around the world, each other. They understood the connection with other humans that comes with simply living. Reuven and Danny are dealing with the essential questions of people our age: who am I? How do I fit in the environment around me? How does that fit in the world? They are asking these questions with each new lesson they learn.

That is what I love about college. JBU seems like a homogenous group, but in reality, there are countless lessons to be learned from interacting with every student you come across. I encourage you to learn from Danny and Reuven. Be brave, look at ideas outside of your norm. Really step back to see who you are, and put yourself in places to be molded into who God wants you to be. I am not at all the person I was during orientation freshman year. I guess you can say that my “earlocks” have been cut off, and I am walking “bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future”. I cannot think of anything more exciting than being free to ask questions, find answers--find God. We don’t have to hide out in the library behind shelves like Danny to find out new ideas, we can do that in classrooms, in the dorms, in Walker Student Center.

With each book I read, I gain new insight about myself and the world around me. As you are beginning this journey, be inspired by Danny and Reuven. This is an exciting time, you were chosen by God to be at JBU for a reason, take advantage of it, learn all you can, and most importantly, live it to the fullest.

The Silence of The Chosen - Esther Carey

Silence is a major theme of The Chosen. It occurs in several instances, but most notably between Danny and his father: they only communicated during Talmud quizzes or angry explosions. Danny could never understand his father’s silence. If you have finished the book, you know it was in order to teach Danny compassion that Reb forced him to find the answers within his own soul.
How do these ideas fit with Christianity? Is such silence Biblical?
First of all, we cannot really find truth within ourselves. Only when we look to God can we find true answers to our questions. Looking into oneself alone reveals only confusion.
Secondly, the possible consequences are very serious. When a father refuses to have a relationship with his son, there is no reason why the son should respect him. The son could simply make his own choices, freely disregarding his silent father’s wishes. The soul of such a son would probably become a ruined wreck of anger and bitterness instead of a heart of compassion.
Thankfully, God does not treat us as Reb treated Danny. Rather than forbidding us from hearing His word and leaving us to our own devices, He gives us His truth as the ultimate point of reference and sent His Son to rescue us from ourselves and our own foolishness.
To Danny, Reb Saunders was an impersonal force, there to lay down rules, but not to love and encourage him. The God of Reb seems much the same: “The Master of the Universe,” but not a personal God with whom one may have a relationship. For the Christian, however, God is both. Although He is infinite, He is also a personal God. He has not remained silent, He has spoken to us. Furthermore, He offers us the opportunity to have a close, personal communion with Him through the reconciliation of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Torn between two worlds

I first read The Chosen in High School. I distinctly remember two thoughts I had about the book. The first is that I was pretty sure I was missing most of the subtleties in the conversations. The second was that I really liked Reuven and Danny. I really felt like I understood and related to them. I don't want to launch into a detailed analysis of Danny and Reuven, and why I relate to them so well, but I do want to focus on a facet of Danny that I understand better this time through the book: the way he is torn between two worlds.

The fact that Danny is torn between his duty to succeed his father and his desire to become a psychologist is not exactly a subtle plot point. Reuven's father says that “Reb Saunder's son is a terribly torn and lonely boy” (pg110). What is interesting, though, is how Danny deals with his dilemma. I don't want to give anything away, so I will simply say that Danny's decision is not made in a single, watershed moment. Instead, his decision is made in small steps; each one taking him a little closer to his final decision.

Although the boys' culture is very different than ours, which could make it very difficult to relate to them, the things they struggle with are things that you and I also struggle with. When I look back on my first half of college, I realize that much of it was filled with a sense of being torn. Not the extreme that Danny dealt with, but sometimes they were difficult. As you enter your college career, you will encounter this, as well. Some will be simpler, like deciding whether to study or watch a movie, and others will be more difficult, like picking a major. You may even have an experience like Danny's. Will you pursue the career your parents want for you, or will you pick what you want to do? These are not easy questions, either for you or for Danny, but they are what makes life what it is, and they are what makes The Chosen such a great book.

Crazy World...Cockeyed

When Reuven was in the hospital, he met a boxer, Mr. Savo, who said in response to the war, that it is a "crazy world...cockeyed." Months later (in chapter 9, 173-174), Reuven recalls these words after he calls the father of the boy who was also next to him in the hospital and finds out that Billy's surgery was not successful-- the boy still cannot see. He had the best surgeon, but still he did not gain his sight. Reuven had the same surgeon, and even his scar tissue healed well.

Reuven wanders out to the porch, dwelling on Mr. Savo's words. He sees a motion to the side of his field of vision, but ignores it at first. Then, he notices a housefly caught in an intricate spider's web on one side of the porch.

How do we view this "cockeyed" world? Some might see God's providence. Others might see his permitting omniscience. Some may see no good in it at all. To most, it just does not make sense. This world is plain "cockeyed" and there seems to be little explanation for it. Even if we have an explanation for why it happens, that does not mean that this world makes sense. The events themselves still seem cockeyed, at times. In this world of suffering and "cockeyed" events, what is our response?

Reuven saw the fly struggling to free itself, only to get caught again. The spider who had spun the web was approaching to claim his prey. Reuven went over to the web and looked closer at the situation. He then blew at the web to destroy its hold on the fly, but it held fast. With one more hard burst of air, the web gave way and the fly was free.

Will we ignore what is happening in this world if it is not directly in front of us, or will we look closer? Do I choose to go and investigate, but then let happen? Or do I do what little I can to help those caught in the webs of self deceit, lies, oppression of any and various kinds, poverty, pain, illness....even if they may seem to be small and insignificant, yet, I can do something about it. In fact, I may be the only one who can, but it may escape my notice if I'm not paying attention.

Sometimes people who feel helpless about the world will do small things such as Reuven did to help themselves feel like they can really do something about the cockeyed world. These small acts such as helping a dog caught out in the rain, feeding the stray cat on the back porch, or donating a great number of coins to the bell ringer at the store door at Christmas time are important ways of redeeming what should not be. Especially with the last we can see how it helps other people, but we often get something more than modest pleasure in giving, don't we? It isn't necessarily wrong to do these things, they can be part of doing the small good things, as mentioned before. But can we do more? Are there parts of this cockeyed world which I ignore because I'm not willing to do more, perhaps as Reuven could have done, to call little Billy sooner in my busy schedule to encourage him before the chance passes me by to help someone in pain? What do I ignore, what do I investigate but leave alone, what do I give one try and then give up--if only I would have tried once more?
~ May we have a great doing time!

Studying German as a Jew in a World at War

In chapter eight of Book Two, Reuven finds out that Danny is learning German. It disturbs him-- Understandably, because, at that time, the world was at war against the Nazi German leadership, opposed to the Jewish people. Danny thinks this is why Reuven reacts the way he does. However, that is not Reuven's concern. Reuven is concerned about Danny becoming like Solomon Maimon, who allowed his hungering for knowledge to become an all-controlling force that ruined the remainder of his life.

We may never know the difficulty that Danny went through as he studied psychology, which was forbidden in his community, and German, which was not looked upon favorably by many at that time. Even his own friend was concerned about his amazing desire and ability to learn. However, it is notable that while the Nazis used the German language and committed atrocities, the language itself was not evil. That may seem to be a mute point, but hear me out. There are some things which in themselves are not evil-- we just need to be careful how ourselves and others (i.e., those who have written about them or who discuss them) use those subjects. Take English or writing, for example. The power of words is amazing, and how we use them often impacts the thoughts of others. Science also has the ability to used for great good or great harm. Now consider philosophy and the power of ideas. Perhaps there are some fundamental truths which many philosophers express and which we can say, "Yes, that is something that is God's truth." One might look at the Bible, general or natural revelation, or specific guidance to make this calling. However, many ideas can be applied incorrectly and used for great evil. Hitler read much philosophy, but the philosphers he read carried some ideas to one point, and he carried them to another. It is all about how we use it.

We should use what God made to be good as good, and we can do this in all aspects of our education and our life. We do not need to let our desire for an education corrupt us or side track us from what is really important, but allow Him to use our hunger for a particular subject to be moderated by life and be part of life--but not corrupt it. Let's use it for the glory of God. Just some thoughts...

Darkness and Sunlight - by Heather Tiller

“The world jumped into focus and everything looked suddenly bright and fresh and clean…and there was newness everywhere, a feeling that I had been away a long time in a dark place and was now returning home to sunlight.” (The Chosen, 95)

When I first read this passage, I was struck by it. I know the feeling Reuven is speaking of, that wonderful clarity that comes from putting on a pair of glasses after an extended time without them. It is an incredible relief to be able to say, “Oh, now I can see!” Reuven's experience holds the deeper meaning of symbolism and foreshadowing as his life takes off in an unprecedented direction.

At this point in the novel, Reuven’s life has turned a crucial corner and will never again be what it was. He may not know exactly what the future holds, but there is a definite sense of hope as he describes his house and neighborhood as if seeing them for the first time. The “dark place” he felt he had been in before is symbolic of his life before Danny’s friendship; now that he is beginning to understand more about this remarkable boy and the Hasidic way of life, his life is filled with the “sunlight” of knowledge, love, and friendship.

But where there is light, there are usually shadows.
Even though Reuven is seeing the world anew and has such bright prospects for the future, there remain shadows of uncertainty that threaten to undermine his friendship with Danny. The largest shadow is Danny's father, Rabbi Saunders. Will he accept his son's friendship with an "apikorsim"?

The second area of darkness the boys must face is the ridicule they may suffer from their acquaintances who do not understand how the two - coming from such different worlds - could be friends. No matter what path Reuven decides to go down, he now has a clearer of knowledge of the world because of his new friendship that will prove more valuable than he could have dreamed.

As Esther said last week, it is all about perspective. Who knows what my happen to cause our vision of the world to change? Be concsious of this as you continue to read and live and prepare for the future.

Perspective (by Esther Carey)

While describing Reuven’s time in the hospital, Chaim Potok makes several comments pertaining to how one’s perspective affect what one believes.

The first instance seems very simple – Reuven wakes up and tries to figure out what day it is. He cannot know for sure until he is told by someone else. In other words, he must look to some outside source. Likewise, we cannot always discover the solutions to our problems by using only our own knowledge and experience. We need an objective truth point outside of ourselves. For Christians, that is God and His Word. Without that reference frame, we cannot truly know anything.

Second is Reuven’s predicament while in the hospital: he does not have his glasses. As a result, everything beyond a certain point is merely a confused blur. Our lives can sometimes be the same way: an indistinct haze about which we understand little. I think that a correlation can be drawn between sin and such spiritual vision problems. Our humanness (and our sinful nature) causes us to be near sighted. We can only see the immediate surroundings. Only when we put on our Biblical world view glasses (to borrow from Ken Ham’s illustration) does the fog of our lives become focused in relation to God’s plan.

Lastly is the situation between Reuven and Danny. Initially, they hate each other because they see only the surface of each other’s lives, and they draw the wrong conclusions from the limited amount that they see. As Reuven’s father says “Things are always what they seem to be, Reuven? Since when?” This ties into the parable Dr. Stratman included in his post last week. When we look at another person’s life, we only see the outward struggles. Before we leap to conclusions, we should try to get to know them in order to understand what they are going through inside.

The "hooks" of life

Don't forget to read the epigraph on the page before Book One. Potok includes this short proverb from Karl A. Menninger (famous psychiatrist):

"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him. In the same way the human being struggles with his environment and with the hooks that catch him. Sometimes he masters his difficulties; sometimes they are too much for him. His struggles are all that the world sees and it naturally misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to understand what is happening to a hooked one."

Most of the time, authors use epigraphs to introduce themes to the reader that he/she is most likely to explore in the book. One of the primary themes of this novel revolves around how characters navigate their tradition with the modern world. Both Danny and Reuven are caught by many of life's "hooks." Watch how they struggle with those ideological, spiritual, and emotional battles. Then, ask yourself these questions: how do you respond to new ideas, especially those that seem to oppose what you already know to be true? How do you react when you get caught by a "hook?" As you read "The Chosen," think about whether you relate more with Danny's story or with Reuven's story? Where do you fit in this narrative?

Lastly, I want to encourage you to enter the essay contest this year. The writing prompt asks you to create an essay on this very topic. The prompt is below:

"A major theme of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen is the simultaneous appeal and danger of new ideas. How should a Christian university deal with the ideas of thinkers who are, to Christians, “goyim”? How do we balance devotion to our faith with exploration of new ideas?"

Our student bloggers start writing next Monday. They are a mix of in-coming freshmen and upper classmen; men and women; and avid readers and reluctant readers. Join them in dialogue; leave lots of comments.

happy reading,
Dr. Jake Stratman

Welcome to JBU Reads

In a previous life, I taught English at Glendale High School in Springfield, MO. For several years, I assigned Chaim Potok's The Chosen. What surprised me, initially, was that my students were unable to see any connections between the characters' lives and their own: the characters are Jewish and most of my students were not; the characters live in New York and my students did not; the novel is set during WWII and we were reading in the twenty-first century. As a teacher, I had to do a lot of cheerleading and judo tricks to convince my students that The Chosen would be one of the most "human" books they would ever read. So, my hope for you is that you do not get bogged down with petty differences. Try to find yourself in this novel; be open to how this book may change the way you think about your parents, God, education, and the friendships you will cultivate here at JBU.

Please come back to this blog weekly. Each Monday throughout the summer, there will be a different student blogging his/her reading experience. Leave comments. And, if you become interested in joining the bloggers, just send me an email.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Jake Stratman