The Chosen: Danny And Reuven's Friendship

Danny and Reuven represent deeply committed friends. Their live intertwine when historical circumstances , religious realities, and their father's differences in child rearing dramatically affect their respective senses of security and happiness.

Danny and Reuven, an Unbelievable Friendship

On one side of the visible light spectrum is ultra-violet rays, and on the other, infrared rays. If two people were to stand on a visible light spectrum and represent their personalities based on where each other stand, David Malter would stand on one side, and miles away, possibly not even on the spectrum would be Isaac Saunders. The fathers of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders create the central conflict of The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Historical circumstances, religious realities, and child rearing practices equip each of the fathers with opinions that are based on their perception of God. This perception of God drives each and every word written into the novel and influences all of the character's actions.

Set from 1944 until 1951, the world for all people was changing, especially the Jews. Hitler is coming to the end of his reign of terror in Germany, the holocaust was not on the decline, and the treatment of the Jews remains incomparable. One of the main conflicts that directly links itself to the history of the time period is Zionism. Zionism, an international political movement that promotes the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, fueled the creation of the state of Israel. David Malter becomes an active Zionist after reports of 6,000,000 million Jews being executed by German dictator, Adolf Hitler. At one point in the story, when Malter is in the hospital and Reuven stays with the Saunders', Reuven mentions this movement at dinner and immediately strikes a nerve with Reb Saunders. Just one example of the difference between Hasidism and Orthodox Judaism, Zionism provides and obstacle for Danny and Reuven in the middle of what might be called the high-point of their friendship.

All of this leads to the religious realities of the time period. Hasids, and Apikorsims live in the same neighborhood, play in the same baseball leagues and attend the same colleges. Even though the two sects have many interactions, each side considers any friendship between the two, strictly forbidden. Like Reuven's glasses, this ideology breaks when Danny and Reuven start their friendship. David promotes the friendship and Reb Sauders questions it at first but learns to accept and enjoy it. Reuven gains knowledge of Hasidism when he starts attending Shabbat at the synagogue where Isaac Saunders is rabbi. Saunders, knowing that he has a head for mathematics, performs gematria, numerology of the Hebrew language. Rabbi intentionally makes a mistake, hoping that Reuven will catch it, which he does. This parallels the treatment of Danny that his father gives him. Danny, a 'future rabbi' in the eyes of his father, tries and succeeds to catch his father's intentional Talmudic mistake each week. None of these practices would ever occur at the more secular