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Chaim Potok

チャイム・ポトック

Chaim Potok

Aliases: Herman Harold Potok / Chaim Tzvi (ヘブライ名)

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1929-02-17 （The Bronx, New York City, U.S.）
Died
2002-07-23 （Merion, Pennsylvania, U.S.） age 73
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, Hebrew
Religion
Judaism (Conservative affiliation)
Residence History
The Bronx (New York) → Brooklyn (New York) → Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) → Jerusalem (Israel) → Merion (Pennsylvania)

Career

Occupations
novelist, rabbi, playwright, editor, painter, critic
Active Years
1949-2002
Affiliations
Faculty, University of Judaism (Los Angeles), Jewish Publication Society (editor-in-chief / special projects editor), Har Zion Temple (scholar-in-residence), Camp Ramah (camp director / instructor), Teachers' Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary (faculty)
Memberships
Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East (member)
Influenced By
James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ernest Hemingway, S. Y. Agnon
Influenced
Jewish American authors, Elie Wiesel (admirer)

Education

Yeshiva University
Faculty (Arts/English) / English Literature
Degree: BA (summa cum laude)
Period: 1946–1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United States
BA in English Literature, graduated summa cum laude
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Faculty of Theology / Theology / Rabbinical Studies
Degree: ordination (Rabbi)
Period: 1950–1954
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: United States
Ordained as a Conservative rabbi
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School (English/Philosophy) / English Literature and Philosophy
Degree: MA, PhD (詳細不明)
Period: 1959–1960s（在籍・研修）
Country: United States
Earned a master's degree and later a doctorate (exact years uncertain)

Awards

Edward Lewis Wallant Award
1967
Work: The Chosen
Organization: Edward Lewis Wallant Award organization
Result: winner
National Book Award (nominated)
1968
Work: The Chosen
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: nominated
Athenaeum Literary Award
1969
Work: The Promise
Organization: Philadelphia Athenaeum
Result: winner
National Jewish Book Award (Fiction)
1990
Work: The Gift of Asher Lev
Category: Fiction
Organization: Jewish Book Council
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Chosen

1967 Literary fiction

The story of the friendship and divergent religious paths of two Jewish boys, exploring tradition, modernity, and moral conflict.

religion and faithfriendshiptradition vs. modernityidentity
Adaptations
  • [film] The Chosen (1981 film) / Jeremy Kagan (1981)
  • [stage play] The Chosen (stage adaptation) / Aaron Posner（共同脚色・演出） (1999)

My Name Is Asher Lev

1972 Literary fiction

The story of Asher Lev, a young artist whose passion for painting creates conflict with his devout family, exploring faith and artistic vocation.

art and faithfamily conflictindividual expression
Adaptations
  • [stage play] My Name Is Asher Lev (stage adaptation) / Aaron Posner（共同脚色） (2009)

Davita's Harp

1985 Literary fiction

One of Potok's few novels with a female protagonist, intertwining family history and political events.

family historyloss and recoveryhistorical impact

The Book of Lights

1981 Literary fiction

Based on Potok's experience as a chaplain in Korea, the novel deals with faith and shaken identity.

war experiencecrisis of faithpersonal growth

Bibliography

  • Jewish Ethics (14 volumes, 1964–69)
  • The Chosen (1967)
  • The Promise (1969)
  • My Name Is Asher Lev (1972)
  • In the Beginning (1975)
  • Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews (1978)
  • The Book of Lights (1981)
  • Davita's Harp (1985)
  • The Gift of Asher Lev (1990)
  • I Am the Clay (1992)
  • The Tree of Here (1993)
  • The Trope Teacher (1994)
  • The Sky of Now (1994)
  • The Gates of November (1996)
  • Zebra and Other Stories (1998)
  • Isaac Stern: My First 79 Years (with Isaac Stern; 1999)
  • Old Men at Midnight (2001)

Adaptations

  • The Chosen adapted as a film (1981) and stage play (1999)
  • My Name Is Asher Lev adapted for the stage (2009)

Translations by Author

  • Translation work on the Hebrew Bible into English

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic prose with emphasis on piety and psychological portraitclear and direct narrative voice
Recurring Motifs
conflict between faith and modernityfather-son conflicttension between art and religionJewish identity

Health

  • brain cancer
    2001–2002
    Diagnosed after 2001; affected his late-life activity and led to his death in 2002.

Legacy

Chaim Potok is known for works that explore the intersection of Conservative Judaism and modern society, exerting considerable influence on Jewish American literature. His papers were bequeathed to the University of Pennsylvania and serve as a resource for scholarship.

Academic Societies

  • No specific academic societies listed (papers held in university archives)

Archives

  • University of Pennsylvania Libraries (Chaim Potok papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Brought broader recognition through film and stage adaptations of The Chosen.

Quotes

  • Elie Wiesel said he had read all of Potok's books "with fervor and friendship."
    Source: Letter/statement by Elie Wiesel (reported in obituaries and remembrances) (2002)

Trivia

  • Began writing at 16 and made his first magazine submission at 17.
  • Service as a U.S. Army chaplain in Korea influenced several works.
  • The Chosen spent 39 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and sold over 3.4 million copies.
  • He painted in his spare time and often wrote about artists.
  • His papers were bequeathed to the University of Pennsylvania.