Jewish Theological Seminary of America Essays

  • The Chosen by Chaim Potok

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    "When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him." ---KARL A. MENNINGER By developing a relationship between two people who come from completely distinct worlds, Chaim Potok was able to instigate and investigate a profound and deeply moving story of true friendship and the importance of father-son interconnection

  • The Chosen

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Chosen By: Chaim Potok The novel The Chosen is a story of two Jewish boys who become friends and go through lots of hard times together. The book starts out at a baseball game, one boy on one team and one boy on the other team. The game quickly turns more into a war rather than a game. Reuven was pitching when Danny came up to bat, Reuven threw the ball and Danny hit the ball straight back at him. The ball hit Reuven in the eye, shattered his glasses, and got a piece of glass in his eye. Reuven

  • Modern Versus Traditional Views in Chaim Potok’s The Chosen

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    can cause similar faiths to seem very different. David Malter’s modern ideas conflict with Reb Saunders's traditional practices. For example, David Malter wants his son, Reuven, to learn English subjects and become a mathematician. However, a Jewish school established by Reb Saunders teaches the minimum required English subjects. Reb wishes for Danny to become a rabbi and carry a tradition in which the oldest son becomes a rabbi and the leader of the sect. These opposing views are carried out

  • Danny Saunders In The Chosen, By Chaim Potok

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Chosen first became published in 1967, by author Chaim Potok. A Jewish rabbi himself, Potok gave readers a view of the life of two teenage jewish boys, both with very different fathers. Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders meet while playing against each other in a baseball game. Though the two teens did not immediately like each other, they both became good friends, despite their differences. As a Hasidic Jew, Danny lived a very strict lifestyle and did not maintain a good relationship with his

  • The Power of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Power of The Chosen Throughout the book, 'The Chosen', Chaim Potok used the way of the Jewish lifestyle to teach his readers of the Jewish people. Potok used a variety of techniques including diction where he introduced Jewish terms, the theme of silence, and conflict between father and son to make the novel appealing. Furthermore, this novel tells us of the life of Jews and their commitment to religion; "We are commanded to study His Torah! We are commanded to sit in the light of the

  • Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them‘ordinary things’ is a better expression. That is the way the world is’” (110). Mr. Malter shares his wisdom of Jewish morals and way of life with Reuven so he may pass his knowledge on to his children, or perhaps his future followers. Mr. Malter tries to pass more wisdom to Reuven as the ... ... middle of paper ... ...if you [Reuven] become a rabbi’” (219).

  • Role of the Fathers in Chaim Potok’s The Chosen

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    blossoms between two Jewish boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, during and after World War II. On a deeper level, much of the plot focuses on the character of their fathers–Reb Saunders and David Malter–whose beliefs and ideals are rooted in two separate worlds. Reb Saunders is a zealous Hasidic rabbi who wants to impart his knowledge of his religion upon Danny and expects his son to follow in his footsteps. David is a professor and single father who comes from a liberal Jewish background. As the

  • Silence in Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    Saunders wanted to have Danny think things through himself. Reb Saunders also wanted Danny to grow up in the same manner he himself was raised. Rabbi Saunders tries his hardest to have his son’s soul be ready for taking over the task of leading the Jewish people. The reason that a person must have a strong soul is so that they can handle the burden that Danny’s followers will heap onto him. Rabbi Saunders believes that only speaking to his son in Talmud discussions will enhance his sons soul. That

  • Polish Jewish Immigration Essay

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    and promoted Havurot (small prayer groups). Among other things, Leeser produced an Anglo-Jewish translation of the Bible, founded the Jewish Publication Society, and edited a Jewish periodical, The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, which attempted in its pages to unite the diverse voices of the American Jewish community. He also rallied his community to respond to incidents of anti-Jewish persecution around the world. Conservative Judaism Before the Breslau Reform Conference began in 1846

  • Dante's Inferno: A Christian View Of Hell

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    undermined a historical biblical doctrine and surrendered an important theological weapon of the church’s struggle with evil. "Scripture clearly speaks of hell as a physical place of fiery torment and warns us we should fear," says R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. (Jeffery L. Sheler) Along with this argument, Prof. Douglas Groothuis of the evangelical Denver Seminary adds, “separation from God may seem like freedom from a domineering spouse

  • The Promise Of Pentecost

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    the apostles, as well as the beginning of the church of Christ. Fifty days after Jesus was risen form the grave, in Jerusalem was taking place a celebration called the Feast of Weeks, time in which every Jewish male was required to appear at the sanctuary. This celebration, used to bring Jewish people from all around Asia and Europe to Jerusalem. It was about this time when the Pentecost took place (Grieb). The eleven disciples were "all together in one place" waiting for the promise to come.

  • A Quick Biography of Harry Houdini

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    him.” because I will give you enough information to be considered “knowledgeable”. 1. What we know about the early life of Harry Houdini is as much of a mystery as Roanoke Island. We do know Houdini was born the seventh child of Samuel Weiss, a Jewish rabbi.5. In spite of being famous the Houdini family has managed to keep their origins mostly a secret, which is impressive because they had to blatantly lie about a lot of things.2. For example, their family tells all who ask that they came from

  • Reinhold Niebuhr

    3135 Words  | 7 Pages

    activist, the influence of his theological thought on the field of social ethics and on society made him a significant figure. Reinhold Niebuhr was born in Wright City, Missouri, on June 21, 1892 as the son of Gustav and Lydia Niebuhr. His father, Gustav was an immigrant from Germany and became an ordained minister of the German Evangelical Synod after graduating from Eden Seminary at St. Louis, the training school for ministers of the Deutsche Evangelical Synod of North America. His mother was a daughter

  • What Impact Has Feminism Had On Religion

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    What impact has feminism had on religion? Answer with reference to more than one religious tradition. What impact has feminism had on religion? “Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms. Feminists disagree about what sexism consists in, and what exactly ought to be done about it; they disagree about what it means to be a woman or a man and what social and political implications gender has or should have.”-Stanford

  • 18: 17-46 Elijah Analysis

    2173 Words  | 5 Pages

    Elijah Proves the Sovereignty of the Lord at Mount Carmel Laniese Penner (4) Bible II Berean Academy  Elijah Proves the Sovereignty of the Lord at Mount Carmel In I Kings 18:17-46, Elijah challenges King Ahab to a battle between their gods. Elijah wants the Israelites to realize that only one god can be the true god and that the true god would show himself to be the overruling power at Mount Carmel. At this time, Israel has been suffering from a severe drought which was causing famine. The famine

  • The Life of Rabbi Joseph Baer Soloveitchik

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Soloveitchik. Hoboken, N,J.: KTAV Publ. House, 1999. Print. Golden and Sarna. "The American Jewish Experience in the Twentieth Century: Antisemitism and Assimilation, The Twentieth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center." The American Jewish Experience in the Twentieth Century: Antisemitism and Assimilation, The Twentieth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 20

  • Judaism in William Finn's Falsettoland

    3882 Words  | 8 Pages

    Judaism in William Finn's Falsettoland Judaism and Jewish culture have always been central to William Finn, writer of a trilogy of short works following Marvin, a homosexual living within the Jewish faith. Falsettoland itself forms the final part of the trilogy whilst In Trousers and March of the Falsettos are the first two instalments respectively. Christianity condemns homosexuality within its faith, therefore, surely Judaism would take a moral stand and condemn any theatrical portrayal

  • Theological Perspective Analysis

    9568 Words  | 20 Pages

    Theological Perspective I have had many opportunities to write “statements of faith” in my many years of being entrenched in Evangelicalism. When writing a statement of faith in that context, I was essentially asked to affirm my belief in what those churches believed to be true. I wasn’t allowed to think or wrestle on my own to come up with my own theology. Writing my theological perspective here for the United Church of Christ is a new experience as I grapple with what it is I really believe

  • Left Behind Book Series

    8901 Words  | 18 Pages

    Feeling left behind? You might be if you have looked in the religion section of a bookstore recently. Since 1995, over fifty million books bearing the banner of the Left Behind series have showed up not only in Protestant bookstores but also in mainstream, secular bookstores. In 1998 the original four books of the series simultaneously occupied the top four slots in the New York Times bestseller list—which does not count sales figures from Protestant bookstores. The tenth volume of the series debuted

  • Personality Theories

    3169 Words  | 7 Pages

    younger siblings. When he was four or five -- he wasn't sure -- the family moved to Vienna, where he lived most of his life. A brilliant child, always at the head of his class, he went to medical school, one of the few viable options for a bright Jewish boy in Vienna those days. There, he became involved in research under the direction of a physiology professor named Ernst Brücke. Brücke believed in what was then a popular, if radical, notion, which we now call reductionism: "No other forces than