Asher Lev Three Fathers

In what way can we say that Asher has three fathers?

The term ‘father’ can simply be described as the person who contributes to the conception of a child, a progenitor whose relationship with the child is strictly biological. Nevertheless, the duty of a father requires something more ; being there for his children, watching and actively participating in their lives. The presence of a male figure is important for the development of a child as a human being and, in this case, as an artist and so is the notion of authority which is often related to the father figure. In his novel, Chaim Potok tells us the story of a boy named Asher Lev, from his early childhood in the Ladover Hasidic community in Brooklyn to his adulthood as a well-known and talented artist. Many male figures influence Asher, and each one brings certain elements to Asher’s vision of the world and way of life. Three men in particular Aryeh Lev, the Rebbe and Jacob Kahn are going to shape Asher’s life and take the role of father-like figures.

We identify three main figures in this book who are shaping Asher’s life. First comes Aryeh Lev who is Asher’s biological father. We can see a great evolution between the two characters among the book; he appears to be a pillar in his son’s life as a young child but when the travelling becomes more and more open, the absence of his father will lead to diverse consequence among which the practice of drawing and painting which becomes more and more often as a way to fill the void left by the absence of his father. Aryeh is Asher’s biological father and the man who but he doesn’t fulfil all the duties of a supportive father even though we see the evolution of their relationship going from a complicity and fascination when Asher is just a young child to the hostility of Aryeh towards his son’s art. Later on, when Asher is a grown up young man who lives his artistic life quite independently, we observe the desire his father has making an effort understanding his son’s work even though Aryeh Lev claims that he will never accept the fact that his son becomes an artist and he can’t reconcile himself with it. As a matter of fact, the aesthetic blindness that Asher reproaches is father of at the end of the book deals with the fact that the two men can’t agree and each other’s beliefs. On one hand, we have the father who’s offended by his son’s moral blindness, especially by the nudes he paints that he defines as ‘naked women’ and which demonstrates the gap between the two men’s conception of art and morality. In fact, Aryeh has a hard time relating to Asher’s different values system and keeps saying that his son’s art comes from the sitra achra, which is to the dark side and the impurity and will lead him to hurt someone. All of these opposing concepts (show/exhibition, nudes/naked woman/aesthetic vs moral) destroyed the father to son link we expect from a normal relation.
In the second place, we note a very important figure, the Rebbe, who will adjust and bring a new aspect to Asher’s relationship with authority. The Rebbe appears to be Asher’s spiritual father, as he is the community spiritual leader. He embodies wisdom and neutrality and he intervenes only when great decision have to be taken. Even if he meets the young Asher only a few times in the book, the Rebbe plays an important role in what will be his future as an artist; he is of great care and attention for the boy. The Rebbe has the linking role between Aryeh (family, father, moral, duty) and Jacob Kahn who he considers as a good man even though he is not an observant Jew. The Rebbe is the incarnation of what I would call a soft power because he is the one supervising Asher development in the path he chose by making sure that Asher does it in the best way to reconcile both his religious beliefs and his art. Asher's life path is unconsciously influenced by the Rebbe; he is the one who decides that Asher will study with Jacob Kahn, against the wishes of Asher's father. Even as Asher gets older, the Rebbe is able to tell him to study French and Russian. Still, the Rebbe knows his limits. He does not, for instance, tell Asher to stop painting.
Moreover, Jacob Kahn appears in Book 2, when Asher is adolescent, there is a shift in the boy’s personality. Jacob Kahn can be defined as Asher’s mentor. He becomes his master, they share ideas and discuss about artists, canvas, concepts, and movements. Asher learns a lot of things and paints every Sunday in Jacob Kahn’s studio; their relationship is way more complex than we would have thought about a student and his teacher. We understand the similarities between the two characters: Jacob Kahn sees himself through Asher and feels a special bond with him. Asher founds himself learning a lot of things both theoretical and practical. Jacob Kahn oversees Asher’s work by giving him strong advices and never interferes in his paintings. He is aware of the young man’s gift and warns him that this kind of life demands a lot of sacrifices as it a profane and individualistic way life, the opposite of the life in the community. Therefore, we can say of Jacob Kahn that he is the artistic guide Asher, and is very similar to his father biologist. In fact, we note that the two men have trouble with that is not part of their world, one art considered immoral and 'goy' and the other, the religion he left a long time ago.

On the other hand, we can hardly say that Asher has three fathers considering the fact that, even if the three characters are very present, there are other characters a part from the one cited before who play a consequent role in his life. Mentioning one of the major themes of the book, which is the movement, illustrated by the coming and going of many characters, we read that Asher finds himself alone during many chapters, often with his mother while his father was travelling away for the Rebbe. Thereby, Rivkeh took the place of both a mother and a father in the raising of her son by spending time with him, posing for drawings at the beginning and later taking him to museums; the young woman has to deal with her studies too but she is very dedicated to her son. She is the most important figure into Asher’s life and the first person Asher draws; she is his muse and the one who has awakened Asher’s artistic sensitivity. Also, Asher keeps asking her to stay with him without really thinking that she misses her husband -who has moved to Europe- and the work she has to complete at university. This kind of selfish attitude towards her clearly show the need of a child for the presence of a parental figure and affection and support he never got from his family and his community, except a few encouragement from his uncle.
In addition, there is a considerable change from the second book, where the movement is more frequent especially when Aryeh began traveling more often which will be finalized by the departure of both parents to Europe for a very long time. Here we see the intervention of uncle Yitzchok, with whom he lives while his parents are in Europe, the major role played by Jacob Kahn and Anna Schaeffer, but all of them seem to be more implicated with Asher’s art and not with himself as a human being. As his period of time studying with Kahn comes to a close, Asher is at a crossroad. He has developed significantly as an artist, but is still a child. He leaves his home for Europe. There, free from his parents, he is finally able to understand his community better. He reflects on his upbringing and his parents and grows tremendously.

What we define as a ‘dad’ helps them grow up, raise them, nurtures them and is present. Asher’s biological father and the man who raises him is Aryeh but the Rebbe and Jacob Kahn both contribute to his education and his creativity. However, having three father is not the real concern in this case but we should consider the fact that he might have had a little bit of everyone’s implication into his life: even when his mother missed her husband she stayed with him, his uncle paid for his art supplies and material and even built him an art studio at his place, Jacob Kahn dedicated him his time and knowledge and Anna Schaeffer took the responsibility to expose the young man. Thus, we can point the fact that Asher Lev is a single-handed artist and so, that is why Asher finally is depicted as a lonely figure, because even if there are many people surrounding him (he will paint all of them and this patchwork of people will unconsciously affect young man’s life), it is above all the story about him and his dilemma between the gifted artist he his and the Hasid community he was born to.