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Chaim Potok
author profile
born
February 18, 1929
died
July 23, 2002
gender
male
place of birth
Bronx, The United States
website
genre
Literature & Fiction
about this author
American author and rabbi. Herman Harold Potok was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Poland.
His parents, Benjamin Max (d. 1958) and Mollie (Friedman) Potok (d. 1985), gave him a Hebrew name, Chaim Tzvi. His Orthodox education taught him Talmud as well as secular studies.
He decided to become a writer as a teenager, after reading Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.
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avg rating: 4.04
| 26,024 ratings
| 2,557 reviews
| 30 distinct works
|
58 fans
More books by Chaim Potok…
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The Chosen by Chaim Potok avg rating 4.05 — 11,430 ratings — published 1967 32 editions |
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My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok avg rating 4.18 — 6,572 ratings — published 1972 17 editions |
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The Promise by Chaim Potok avg rating 4.01 — 2,309 ratings — published 1969 16 editions |
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The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok avg rating 4.03 — 1,506 ratings — published 1990 10 editions |
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Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.86 — 1,225 ratings — published 1985 7 editions |
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In the Beginning by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.98 — 439 ratings — published 1994 11 editions |
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The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.74 — 407 ratings — published 1981 6 editions |
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I Am the Clay by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.41 — 318 ratings — published 1992 10 editions |
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Old Men at Midnight by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.41 — 206 ratings — published 2001 3 editions |
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Wanderings by Chaim Potok avg rating 3.83 — 181 ratings — published 1979 9 editions |
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"Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?
I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.
It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here."
— Chaim Potok (The Chosen)
I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.
It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here."
— Chaim Potok (The Chosen)
"…everything has a past. Everything – a person, an object, a word, everything. If you don’t know the past, you can’t understand the present and plan properly for the future."
— Chaim Potok (Davita's Harp)
— Chaim Potok (Davita's Harp)
"Human beings do not live forever [...], less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So we may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?
I learned a long time ago, that the blink of an eye is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. The span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that span with meaning, so that its quality is immeasurable, though its quantity may be insignificant. A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.
It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. [...] A life full of meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here."
— Chaim Potok (The Chosen)
I learned a long time ago, that the blink of an eye is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. The span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that span with meaning, so that its quality is immeasurable, though its quantity may be insignificant. A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.
It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. [...] A life full of meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here."
— Chaim Potok (The Chosen)
tags:
literature
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