Potok was born in the Bronx, New York in February of 1929. He was the son of two polish immigrants and grew up in an Orthodox Hassidic family. His family and friends within the sect discouraged him from going beyond the boundaries of Judaism. The discouragement of leaving orthodox practices only led to rebellion. His rebellion lied within his becoming a conservative Jewish person. Secular Jews practice the religion, but do not base their lives around Judaism. Potok was intrigued by this idea, and after he read "Portrait of a You

Potok wrote a total of eight novels. Each is told based upon historical knowledge and Potok's experiences in his life. They are all told in the first person Narrative. Many scholars and critics believe that in his works, Potok is actually describing his own life, and he is truly the main characters in many of his novels. In numerous interviews, Potok has denied this, but admits that they are shaped around experiences and beliefs.

Reb Saunders believes in the ritual of raising a tzaddik in silence. Because he believed his son was following in his footsteps, he did not speak directly to his son. It showed a strong contrast to the relationship between Reuven and his father. This expectation was an important idea because it was the cause of Danny's rebellion. Danny did not follow in his father's footsteps. Instead, he became a psychologist. At the end of the book, Danny goes against conformity and chooses a path that will suit himself, and not his father, for the rest of his life. At that point, Reb can cease the silence, and begin speaking to Danny. One ironic situation is that David Malter asks Danny how he will raise his children. In response, Danny says that he will raise them in silence, if he cannot find any other way.

Throughout the entire novel, Potok makes the reader believe that Reb Saunders is cruel and tyrannical. He shows this through examples in the text, such as the time when Reb places a ban on the friendships between Reuven and Danny. As those two painful years go by in the story, the reader becomes more and more resentful towards Reb Saunders. The reader also develops the idea when Reb nearly throws Reuven out of the house from mentioning the Zionist movement his father had been a part of. In another instance, Potok makes Danny look as though he is being scarred for life from the silence. At the end, when Danny has the epiphany that he will raise his children in silence, the reader regains a new respect for Reb Saunders. Both David Malter and Reb Saunders were wonderful parents, and Potok explains this in an extremely roundabout way. In the end, each of them raised smart, successful children and reached their goals. The purpose of this cruel portrayal is to once again show how different two subcultures of a single religion can be (Interview).

Potok's first and most recognized book is "The Chosen." Written in 1967, The novel deals with many themes that American Jews had to overcome in the times around the Holocaust. Potok was inspired to write by a book by Evelyn Waugh and "A portrait of a Young man." Ironically, both of these were books about Catholicism. After reading these Novels, Potok said to himself "If books that are about completely different religions and beliefs can be so intriguing, then there must be more to life than the world of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism." After this epiphany, Potok went on to become one of the most prominent and successful writers of the twentieth century.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Reb Saunders, Danny Reuven's, Interview Chosen, Orthodox Judaism, Prescribed Texts, David Malter, Jewish Goyim, Danny Saunders, Classic Notes, Korean War, reb saunders, danny saunders, david malter, classic notes, raise children, danny reuven's, ultra-orthodox judaism, danny epiphany raise, malter family, father's footsteps, chosen conformity, epiphany raise children, follow father's footsteps, world ultra-orthodox judaism,
Approximate Word count = 2176
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)