"One learns of the pain of others by suffering one's own pain, by turning inside oneself, by finding one's own soul. And it is important to know of pain. It destroys our self pride, our arrogance, our indifference towards others."
I recently finished reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok.
It is a novel I have wanted to read for years but because of my English Major, I haven't been able to read for fun in a long time. And this book was a perfect start to free reading.
It is a Bildungsroman novel about a boy named Reuven Malter who is a Jew growing up in Brooklyn. He becomes friends with a boy named Danny Saunders, a Haddistic Jew in the same neighborhood, who has a photographic memory and a brilliant mind. It it set during WWII and shows the American Jew's reaction to the Holocaust, which was sad but thought-provoking.
It was philosophically rich, but even better taught me so much about the Jewish culture. I love Judaism. I took a Judaism class at BYU and came to appreciate the culture and faith of this ancient religion. Although the book itself is dated, it is an excellent read. It made me question my own existence and my placement in life.
For another awesome read about Judaism check out this book. It totally enlightened me.
Have you read The Chosen? What did you think?
