Reuven In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

Chaim Potok’s The Chosen follows the story of two Jewish boys, Reuven Malter (the narrator) and Danny Saunders, in a neighborhood of Orthodox and Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York between 1944 and 1949. Reuven comes from a family of Orthodox Jews whose father, David Malter, is a yeshiva professor and humanitarian. Opposite of Reuven is Danny, who comes from a family of Hasidic Jews, who are more ultra-Orthodox in terms of religious observances, whose father, Reb Saunders, is the tzaddik of a Hasidic dynasty. Though the boys had lived within five blocks of each other for their entire lives, it was not until a softball game between their schools that the boys would first meet. During this game, Danny hits a ball that strikes Reuven in the face, shattering his glasses and causing glass to get in his eye. Reuven is subsequently sent to the hospital where Danny goes to apologize to him. After a brief period of animosity toward Danny, denying him a chance to apologize, Reuven’s father reminds Reuven that the Talmud says, “If a person comes to apologize
Both are referred to as brilliant, and David even refers to Danny as “a phenomenon. A Once in a generation mind” (Potok 106). Moreover, both boys are the son of a respected voice in their corresponding communities and are seemingly representations of their father’s ideologies. Reuven, in combination with his father, represents the less strict Orthodox Jews who are willing to adapt and accept modern ideals into their religion and fully integrate into modern society. On the other hand, Danny and his father, display a Hasidic, traditional perspective of Jewish life that remains separate from modern society. It must also be noted that neither boy chose their faith, rather it was chosen for them by virtue of birth. But, the friendship formed between Danny and Reuven will prove to be a bridge connecting tradition to