Will I love My Name Is Asher Lev?

In this book, a young Hasidic Jew and artist faces the conflict between his orthodoxy and his desire to explore what lies outside his orthodoxy, such as the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He is pulled in two directions—by his parents' idea of his identity and by searching for the truth about the human condition through his art.

I read this many years ago, in my 30s, and was heartbroken by how the main character has so much integrity to keep searching and finding in spite of so many forces trying to label him and forbid him from certain explorations. I,… show more.

I loved this book when I read it years ago, and I immediately started reading anything I could find by this compelling author.

Through his fine writing, I was able to live in the world of Asher, a young artist grappling with the conflict of being true to his work without defying the tenets of his religion. 

I loved Chaim Potok’s The Chosen when I watched the movie in high school, so I wanted to read his other works.

Potok expertly portrays an authentically Orthodox Jewish worldview with its historic challenge of how to preserve the next generation from the seductions of the secular world surrounding it. Asher Lev is a gifted artist, which puts him in conflict with his parents and community. A wise rabbi recognizes the difficulty of managing Asher and his family’s gifts, goals, and faith, and he intervenes at times of crisis.  

Unlike traditional rabbinic tales in which everything turns out for the… show more.