The Chosen


	The author of this book was Chaim Potok, he was born and raised in  
New York City. He graduated and the Yeshiva University in 1950.  He has written 
many articles, reviews, and stories  and became the editor of the Jewish 
Publication Society of America.  He spent a year in Israel completing his 
doctoral dissertation on philosophy from the university of Pennsylvania.  
The Promise was published in 1969 which was a sequel to this book, The Chosen.  
	
	This story takes place during the time of World War 2 in New York.  
During about 5 or 6 years of Reuven's life.

	This story's main theme is that people of different religions can get 
along together and you shouldn't just not like someone because of that. When Reb 
Saunders tells Danny he cant be around talk or do anything with Reuven because of 
their religious believes are.   

	The Chosen Starts off with Reuven telling us about how he met Danny.  
Reuven played baseball for the yeshiva he went to, and he was the pitcher for 
the game against another rival Yeshiva and when Danny came up to bat he hit the 
ball right back at Reuven and hit Reuven right in the eye, Reuven also wears 
glasses so it broke and all the glass went into his eye.  Reuven was taken to 
the hospital. 

	After he was there for a day or two Danny came into the hospital to see 
Reuven, well Reuven thought that Danny tried to hit him in the eye and was mad 
at him and was yelling at him and told him to leave.  Then the next day Danny 
came back again and this time Reuven was actually nice to Danny and talked to 
him and became friends.  So from there on through most of the book they were 
friends.

	Danny is destined by tradition to follow his father as tzaddik of his 
community, but he really wants to become a psychologist.  Reuven wants to get 
into mathematics, but he wants to become a rabbi.  From his father Reuven learns 
about the practices of Hasidism.  On shabbat sometimes Danny and Reuven's family 
gets together and has debates on different things about Talmud and other 
religious stuff.  Many times Danny and Reuven will meet in the top of the library 
and read and study many things, Danny read a lot of Sigmund Freud, and Reuven 
studied a lot of mathematics stuff. They would pretty much read and study 
anything interesting.

	   Reuven learns to hate Reb Saunders, who strangely never talks to his 
son, except when they are studying Talmud.  Danny and Reuven both attend Hirsch 
College.  At one point Reuven's father, David Malter, openly supports the 
creation of an Anti-zionist Association. Reb Saunders, who is violently 
anti-Zionist, forbids Danny to speak with or associate with Reuven.  So they go 
on for a lot of there college live without talking or making any kind of contact 
with each other. 

	 Finally, the Rabbi asks to see Reuven and for the first time in a year 
the Danny, Reuven and Reb Saunders meet in Reb's study. The rabbi explains that 
he has known about Danny's plans all along.  He also explains why he raised his 
son in silence it was to teach him to listen to silence, to learn compassion, to 
develop a soul to go with his magnificent mind.

	One of the main characters in this story was Reuven Malter, he started 
off to sound like a real mean guy and very stubborn because of what he was doing 
to Danny but he later changed and was a very nice guy. Then there was Danny who 
was also a very nice guy and was concerned abut Reuven when he got hit by the 
ball and actually came to see him in the hospital. He was also always studying 
something and enjoyed reading, he could finish a book in two hours.