Jewish Religious Identity in Chaim Potok’s Novels

Abstract

Chaim Potok was a scholar, rabbi, and a novelist who wrote about the conflict between Judaism and the secular world and the discord within Judaism. His novels frequently portrayed observant Jewish communities and families in a loving and respectful way, opening a window onto the insular Jewish American world. The strength of his writing is in his ability to dramatize universal question of faith, commitment and identity among, mostly, Americans of Jewish roots. The article aims to discuss religious conflicts in Potok’s „The Chosen”, „The Promise” and „In the Beginnings”.