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The Gift of Asher Lev

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 3,816 ratings · 234 reviews

"Rivals anything Chaim Potok has ever produced. It is a book written with passion about passion. You're not likely to read anything better this year."
THE DETROIT NEWS
Twenty years have passed for Asher Lev. He is a world-renowned artist living in France, still uncertain of his artistic direction. When his beloved uncle dies suddenly, Asher and his family rush back to Brookl...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published September 10th 1997 by Ballantine Books (first published 1990)

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May 24, 2013 Kristen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I liked this even more than My Name is Asher Lev. I am not quite sure where to begin. This is my third Potok book in about a month, and I continue to get absorbed in his writing style in such a real way that I find myself thinking about the book and characters throughout the day and into the evening.

I wondered for some of the book if there was any possibility of truth to Asher's character, or if it was heavily stereotyped. Sad, lonely, selfish artist forced to choose between art and his family,...more I liked this even more than My Name is Asher Lev. I am not quite sure where to begin. This is my third Potok book in about a month, and I continue to get absorbed in his writing style in such a real way that I find myself thinking about the book and characters throughout the day and into the evening.

I wondered for some of the book if there was any possibility of truth to Asher's character, or if it was heavily stereotyped. Sad, lonely, selfish artist forced to choose between art and his family, art and his religion. I concluded as I read, happily, that even if there are some parts of Asher that are cliche, he breaks with that cliche several major ways as first evidenced by the fact that he maintains successful family relationships. He has a wife, two children, and one can't be too dysfunctional if they are going to keep that family happy.

I found myself really engaged with the theme of the conflict between art and community/religion. Asher was selfish, yes, but it felt like in many ways it was a helpless selfishness---if that is possible. He did choose his art, but he also showed the ambiguity that exists in the world and all of us because he also made profound choices that put his son and parents first.

Asher, in the first book and now this one, finds himself using art as a redemptive tool, but ironically experiencing the isolation that comes from his family and community not accepting his art as such, but casting him out for about twenty years. Interestingly, the Rebbe of all people is able to come around and recognize art as a way of creating balance and even redemption in the world, even if the others in Asher's life who need it the most never end up seeing it.

His relationship with the Rebbe and his deep spirituality are two other things that make his character break with whatever stereotypes might exist about artists, in my opinion. He is deeply committed to the commandments, and loyal to his spiritual leader and seeks to consider his counsel seriously. In the end, the choices he is once again forced to make, this time deeply affecting the future of his son, are redeemed by the creative power that lies within him. He is able to not only create art that redeems, but make creative choices that reflect a deep love of his family and religion, however conflicted those feelings also are. (less)

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Feb 19, 2011 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

I first read Chaim Potok's books when I was 13 and I received The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev from my Hebrew school teacher as a bat mitzvah present. I remember coming home from the ceremony and the celebration and how I was so happy to be alone and read these books.

Now, when collective Judaism is very hard for me to connect to, I enjoyed entering into Chaim Potok's description of an individual's struggle between himself as an individual and himself as a member of a strong and deep religiou...more I first read Chaim Potok's books when I was 13 and I received The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev from my Hebrew school teacher as a bat mitzvah present. I remember coming home from the ceremony and the celebration and how I was so happy to be alone and read these books.

Now, when collective Judaism is very hard for me to connect to, I enjoyed entering into Chaim Potok's description of an individual's struggle between himself as an individual and himself as a member of a strong and deep religious community.

As an individual and an artist, Asher Lev needs to paint what his imagination demands, but as an observant Jew, he holds a religious sense of the world that is just as much a part of him as his art. I was impressed with the way Potok gave both the religious and the artistic self full respect and allowed them to duke it out. For me, literature is most exciting when it allows impossible contradictions to coexist and then lets them evolve into an unpredictable and perhaps uncomfortable resolution.

Now that Lev has a family, the conflict that was the subject of My Name is Asher Lev becomes even more intense in The Gift of Asher Lev, because Lev needs to make certain non-traditional choices for himself and for his family -- ironically for the sake of tradition.

I especially enjoyed the ongoing theme about Lev's depiction of the crucifix in order to represent a certain kind of spiritual suffering and solitude that he encountered in himself and members of his family. Religious Jews asked him why he could not use the binding of Isaac as an image, but for Lev the binding of Isaac is not a representation of the kind of suffering he needs to express artistically. At the same time, Lev's son has a gift for Talmud and Torah study. He forms a close relationship with the rebbe, so much so that the rebbe and the Ladover community are hinting that Lev's own son will one day be the rebbe, so in a sense Lev does face the challenge of giving up his son for a religious calling, one that his own son desires.
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Nov 04, 2010 Jana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I LOVED this book. I think everyone one who has read My Name is Asher Lev should read this book. It took me all summer to read, basically because it is the kind of book that you linger over. I savored reading it, and really didn't want to finish. Not only are the chapters beautifully written, but the storyline balances out the difficulties Asher faced in his youth. This is twenty years later, when he has a wife and 2 children, and is now returning to the U.S. It is about redemption, hope, and su...more

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Jun 28, 2010 Beth A. rated it 3 of 5 stars

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May 23, 2011 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-edition

It is 20 years after the events in the first book, My Name is Asher Lev. Lev has lived those years in France--currently in a small town in the south of France. He is married, with two children, his daughter Rochelel and his young son Avrumel. Lev has just had a disastrous show in Paris; while all his works sold, those critics he respects have been devastating, calling his work repetitive and worse. Agreeing, Lev is now suffering through a dry period--he can not paint. In the midst of all this, L...more It is 20 years after the events in the first book, My Name is Asher Lev. Lev has lived those years in France--currently in a small town in the south of France. He is married, with two children, his daughter Rochelel and his young son Avrumel. Lev has just had a disastrous show in Paris; while all his works sold, those critics he respects have been devastating, calling his work repetitive and worse. Agreeing, Lev is now suffering through a dry period--he can not paint. In the midst of all this, Lev receives a phone call from Brooklyn telling him that his Uncle Yitzchok has died.; he returns to Brooklyn with his wife and children for the funeral, telling himself that it is only for the week of mourning, but full of foreboding and with the terrible feeling that he has seen the last of his home for some time.

The sequel does not have the power of the first book. My Name is Asher Lev covered Lev’s entire life from childhood until young adulthood at 25, a tumultuous time; The Gift of Asher Lev covers a 6 month period of time at age 45. Events moved fast in the first book; there is not that much going on externally in the second, but much, much more happening in Lev’s interior life. The conflict with his father is still there, but muted by the joy the grandparents have in their grandchildren.

But power there is, because Lev is faced yet again with an agonizing choice in which it appears that no matter which way he decides, the personal cost is terrible. His internal turmoil is illuminated by imaginary conversations and meetings with “the Spaniard”--Picasso, now dead some years--and Jacob Kahn, his mentor, also dead some years. He is haunted by his artistic past, never allowed to forget it either in his birth community or with others.

Potok manages to keep the interest high in this book despite a deceptively “slow” unfolding of the plot, through various writing style devices; he constantly shifts from past tense to present tense, even when describing the same scene. It jolts the reader awake and alert; it is very effective. also, if the two books are read close together in time, it is evident from the beginning that the 2nd book is sharper, harder-edged. There are many lyrical passages but the sequel does not have the dream-like quality that pervaded much of the first book. Lev is middle-aged, with a family, and the world is different.

While in his previous book, Potok wrote sympathetically of the Hasidic Jewish community, this book shows some of the darker aspects of what is a fundamentalist religion. The Rebbe, considered a saint, is not above reaching for secular power, and Lev’s father is a willing aide, traveling to Washington and to Israel in an attempt to influence elections. There are a few sentences in the book that make it very clear that the Rebbe and therefore the entire community that follows him, slavishly, is not a “liberal”; Asher’s father says, “We are not going to vote for the homosexuals. We are not going to vote for the abortionists” as he explains why practically the entire community, under direction from the Rebbe, will support the Republican party. Lev’s wife Devorah dismisses Dukakis as someone who, in France, would be seen as weak, as lacking in his convictions. Power, strength are admired--and sought. Other results of the conservative way of interpreting Torah are also brought out in Asher’s conflict with his cousin Yonkel, one of Yitzchok’s son, over the father’s art collection, which has been left to Lev in his care. It is clear that males are more important than females, no matter how much daughters are loved.

While it does not have the glamor of the first book, The Gift of Asher Lev is yet another thoughtful--and powerful--book from Potok. Not to be missed, after reading My Name is Asher Lev.
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Jul 24, 2010 Austin rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, because I loved 'My Name is Asher Lev.' Unfortunately, this book just wasn't nearly up to snuff. To begin with, nothing happens. Asher, the main character, in particular is static. The entire book he has painter's block, so he just mopes around as is depressed. A large portion of the book is also flashbacks (which in the case of his wife are sometimes pretty interesting and touching--her character is a good new one to get to know) or else Asher's intuition abou...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Shawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jewish-related

The strength of Potok is the honesty and depth to his characters and their communities. In his stories of the Ladovers there is beauty and love, anger and disappointment, hope and despair. One feels like they have truly stepped into this world of the Hasid, which for me is at once alien and familiar. In some ways, I feel like Asher: I am connected to this world, but not part of it. Asher of course is a part of the Hasidic world, buy he is in a kind of exile within it. Asher's duality here allows...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Pat Loughery rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel, novels-about-prayer-and-spiritualit, 2013-nightstand-books

I love the world and tensions that Chaim Potok draws me into. This story continues with the world of the previous book My Name is Asher Lev, twenty years later. Asher Lev is married and has a daughter and a son, is living in exile from the Brooklyn Ladover community in the south of France. He's experiencing artistic tension after some harsh criticism at his last show. When his beloved uncle dies, he and his wife and children return to Brooklyn for the mourning.

That is the stage set for The Gift...more

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Feb 13, 2010 Doug Bradshaw rated it 5 of 5 stars

**SPOILER ALERT ** This review talks about some of the main plot lines in the book.

These books are full of excellent symbolism, from Asher's crucifixion paintings connoting the suffering of especially his mother but perhaps of the whole Jewish community, to his picture of Abraham with Isaac, Isaac actually being sacrificed. I think about Asher's father being full of rage seeing the pictures, and I think of a man who hasn't learned much in life, unable to understand anything except extremely cons...more **SPOILER ALERT ** This review talks about some of the main plot lines in the book.

These books are full of excellent symbolism, from Asher's crucifixion paintings connoting the suffering of especially his mother but perhaps of the whole Jewish community, to his picture of Abraham with Isaac, Isaac actually being sacrificed. I think about Asher's father being full of rage seeing the pictures, and I think of a man who hasn't learned much in life, unable to understand anything except extremely conservative interpretations of the Torah done by generations past. Knowing that Chaim Potok was a Rabbi lifts the book to a higher level. He must have been much like Asher, able to have a complete understanding of all levels of living the religion and at the same time, able to express the obvious pitfalls and problems with such a conservative way of thinking and living life. I'm almost thinking maybe he was trying to get his people to become a bit more understanding and to be careful how they judge and handle their own who step outside of the box. To me, he painted Asher as the finest most moral person of all of them, the extreme opposite of good old Yonkle. To some extent, the Rebbe exhibited this kind of careful behavior with both Asher and Jacob, still loved and accepted them. However, when he banished Asher from the community, I felt his actions were a bit extreme. How about moving to Midtown instead of France?

I have read that many Jewish groups have banned these books and look down on them. This is not surprising because there is no doubt a lot of criticism of the conservative and blindly obedient behavior that is portrayed here by the leaders and conservatives in both of these books. And yet Asher stays true to the teachings and continues to honor the wishes of the Rebbe, so much so that he is willing to give Avrumel to his father and the Rebbe for the sake of continuity in the leadership going forward. In my opinion, this is no gift, it is Abraham sacrificing Isaac just as in Asher's painting and really, as has been done to Asher ever since he wanted to become an artist. Asher is Isaac who has been sacrificed because it is The Master of the Universe's will and Asher still believes it to the point that he obediently allows it to happen. So for me, this sacrifice is supremely unfair and wrong and shows how selfish and blind those people leading cultish types of religions can be all the while believing they are doing the right thing. It is the worst thing about religion. And I think of the extreme Muslims and their suicide bombings. A step worse than how Asher is treated and taught, but comes out of the same extremist and horrible thinking.

I ended up loving Asher and caring about him very much. I wish that he would have been chosen Rebbe. Now we'd have a religion worth liking. (less)

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Aug 25, 2007 Rebekah stefaniuk rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am always skeptical about sequels, but this one was amazing. I would say I liked this one even better than My name is Asher Lev. Asher's a bit older and has a family in this one, so his issues are different. There is a mystery woven throughout this novel pertaining to a riddle that the rabbi shares at Asher's uncle's death. A really great book. Highly recommended.

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Aug 26, 2011 Victor rated it 3 of 5 stars

In this book's predecessor, My Name is Asher Lev, there is much struggle in Asher's mind between following his strict religion & community or breaking away and painting what he sees in the world, even if goes against his religion. In The Gift of Asher Lev there is only a little of this struggle. The main struggle is with his family--where should they live? What will become of the children? What will his father do when the Rebbe dies? What does his wife really want?

A lot of the text is Asher'...more

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Mar 30, 2010 Jodi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Not sure

Shelves: books-in-a-series, world-war-ii, books-set-in-france

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Jun 25, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I finished the sequel to "I am Asher Lev", I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. But I found myself thinking about the book for several days after I read it. I have changed my rating on here as a result. Potok's writing style, considering he is writing about art, is quite vivid and clever. The ending of this novel is more subtle, though. I reread the ending a few days after finishing the book and had a greater appreciation for it. I think this novel brings up an interesting point about l...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Jason Shatkin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Potok wrote this book 5 years after his last book. He should have stayed in retirement. Aside of being overly descriptive in meaningless scenery, Potoks book is obsessed with Art, yet never developed anything. I felt that no part of the story was settled and was an incredible waste of my time.
Examples are his uncles art collection. "Oh. Just keep it in storage"?? Really??? It's destroying his family and just keep it in storage???

Asher lev gave a picture to his son as a gift. And that was suppo...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Lindsay Jackson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Much to my surprise, I liked this book much more than My Name is Asher Lev. I'm not exactly sure what it was I liked more. I think it's because I felt like I got to know Asher a little better in this book. Also, while I loved the first book, I found this one to be a more enjoyable read. Potok certainly knows how to draw you into the story. Once I stop reading the book I have to remind myself, "ok, not Jewish, not in Brooklyn, no artistic talent whatsoever." I also really liked that, after readin...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this continuation of My Name Is Asher Lev, the title character returns home with his family for a brief visit at a crisis point in his career and gradually realizes that he faces a choice that will affect not only his future and that of his family, but also the future of his community.

I found the storyline of this novel to be compelling and pensive, but I found it rather odd that Lev sees and converses with dead people on a regular basis throughout the book--it just seems like one of those th...more

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Apr 14, 2009 JoAnna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the sequel to "My Name is Asher Lev." Asher is now married and grown up with children of his own. He is a successful artist, but finds himself trying to recover after a show in Paris where the critics weren't so pleased with his work. His uncle in Brooklyn passes away and he takes his family to New York for the funeral and mourning. His wife, Devorah, lost her parents as a child and she finds herself enjoying the family and community in Brooklyn. They end up extending their 10 day trip m...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

The first couple sections this book was reading as a derivative and somewhat awkward sequel to My Name Is Asher Lev. But it found its footing; a nuanced work of literature that grew from but is thematically distinct from its predecessor. Loved it.

My Name dealt with the theme of suffering & the conflict of Asher only feeling he could express suffering sufficiently well using Christian tropes. The Gift still explores fundamental issues of family and separation between father and son; it explo...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Heather Faye rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature

I think many of the choices made in this book robbed the character of the stand he made in the last... Did I love it or hate it.... I am entirely unsure. I would have to reread it... but at the close of it's covers, I feel a deep remorse for a character I have come to love. That alone means something. After considering it more completely, I find as an artist, I am in love with it's straight forward honesty and as a person I hate it's bluntness. sacrifice for art comparable to sacrifice for faith...more

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Feb 20, 2009 Liza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jewish

Great read! I thought towards the end was a bit slow or else I would have given it 5 stars. I read My Name is Asher Lev a couple years ago and could easily jump into this one despite the time lapse. I was really interested in this book from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down (except for the end part). Potok seems to have many layers in this book, kind of like Asher's paintings. I asked myself why he put in certain things that seemed random, and I thought of some deep meanings. Whe...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Olivia rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Gift of Asher Lev is a continuation of Asher's story as his career takes off and he develops a life of his own. When Asher learns of the death of his Uncle Yitzchok, he and his family hurry back to Asher's hometown. While Asher thinks that he has left behind this chapter of his life, he quickly discovers that it is the opposite of what is in store for him. As his young family digs its roots deeper into the ground, Asher is set on a journey of confrontation, inspiration, and self-discovery ye...more

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Nov 16, 2009 Tora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Having read My Name is Asher Lev, this book brought me into Asher's adult life seamlessly. His adolescent angst is tempered somewhat, and seeing his family and the Ladover community through his now-mature perspective was fascinating.

As in the prequel, Potok explores the gray regions of the heart which is pulled in multiple directions yet trying to remain true to itself. Another especially good read for artists and those who love artists and can't quite understand them.

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Nov 12, 2010 Lisa N rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not bad for a sequel but did not quite measure up to “My Name is Asher Lev.” Disappointed in the ending. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.

The struggle between Asher and his father continued throughout the book:
Father: “Not among Hasidim….What a person does is what he is.”
Asher: “Not in art.”
Father: “A man can be a murderer and still be regarded as a great artist?”

Some other favorite passages:
Devorah: “How did we survive our childhoods, my husband?”
Asher: “We were helped by a merciful God.”

“Shame...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book completes the story of Asher Lev the artist and his family with a circling back and promise of reconciliation between his religion and his art eventually in his young son's life--however, Asher must abandon at least temporarily his family to achieve this end and to follow his art. I found this book interesting in contrast to the Chosen because the Chosen looks at the Hasidic culture from the outside and this book looks from the inside. However, the stories have parallel themes of a tal...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't quite give this 5 stars, but 4 isn't enough either. Hugely compelling, but the ending only satisfied me at the 4.5 star level; it felt a little rushed and didn't quite add up. Too bad there isn't another book in the story of Asher Lev.

Interesting note about this addition: the cover pictures, presumably, Asher Lev- who is a Hasidic Jew- like he belongs on the cover of a romance novel. Um, where's the beard ? Ooops, somebody forgot to read the book (the beard should be red by the way, but...more

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Mar 26, 2008 Abigail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers Who Loved "My Name Is Asher Lev"

Shelves: fiction

Review Temporarily Removed.

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Jul 30, 2010 Michelle Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do enjoy Chaim Potok books. They’re such quick reads, they really suck me in. This is the sequel to My Name is Asher Lev which I read last year.

It was interesting to read this book right after reading The Rebbe’s Army because Potok’s Ladover Hasids are the fictional version of Lubavitchers. Potok’s book was written long, long before the Lubavitch Rebbe’s death but the parallels between a movement with such a charismatic leader and the questions posed about succession after a leaders death are...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Jennifer Spiegel rated it 2 of 5 stars

I’m going to give away the end, so you may need to stop reading. But it’s the end I want to talk about.

First, I adored the earlier book, My Name is Asher Lev (1972). I think it is, without exaggeration, a profound statement on the integrity of the artist. Second, everyone told me that the sequel, The Gift of Asher Lev (1990), wasn’t very good. Well, it wasn’t as good as the first, but it wasn’t that bad, either. I still found it absorbing, worth reading, and very interesting. Generally speaking...more

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May 09, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sketches in oils went onto those sheets of paper until I saw the painting clearly and then put it on a huge canvas, Devorah watching in tense silence as I brought it to life, her astonished eyes telling me how much she disliked it; and my father showing up at the apartment during one of his trips through Europe for the Rebbe and staring in trembling anger and bewilderment at the finished painting, his face white, and saying, 'What have you done? He did not kill him,...This is what you will show...more Sketches in oils went onto those sheets of paper until I saw the painting clearly and then put it on a huge canvas, Devorah watching in tense silence as I brought it to life, her astonished eyes telling me how much she disliked it; and my father showing up at the apartment during one of his trips through Europe for the Rebbe and staring in trembling anger and bewilderment at the finished painting, his face white, and saying, 'What have you done? He did not kill him,...This is what you will show the world? Abraham slaughtering Isaac?' And I replying, 'It's how I feel about it.' And he finally excusing himself and leaving and never returning to that apartment all the rest of the time we lived there, because he was genuinely fearful of what he thought he might find on my easels and walls."...Douglas Schaeffer came to the apartment...and stared at the painting that had disturbed my father, murmured something about 'your bloody devilish masterpieces,' and with Lucien's help had it removed through the balcony doors and shipped to New York, where he called it The Sacrifice of Isaac--I had wanted to name itLegacy" (p333)

The Gift of Asher Lev is a sequel to My Name is Asher Lev in every way. It was haunting and passionate. Just as the crucifixion paintings represented what he saw of his mother's struggle between her husband and her son from the first novel, I found myself trying to foresee what painting would represent the struggle of Asher as an artist among the Ladover Hasidic Jews as an adult. Whereas the crucifixion paintings wounded his religious community, a wound that was continually reopened and thus could never heal, I hoped a third painting would be the future to finally bind the seeping wounds of the crucifixion. The struggles of Asher Lev as an artist in a world that shunned art as a product of the Other Side grew depth of feeling and meaning through his own maturity. I half expected the next painting to be a crucifixion of his own struggle between the Rebbe, the representative of the Master of the Universe, and Picasso, the embodiment of the darkest side of art, a demon. I did not predict that the painting representative of Asher's struggle would be one that had already been painted...thinking that the "huge empty umber-washed canvas" would be his gift, his retribution for the two crucifixion paintings of the first novel.

Asher was hunted by the image of his ancestor in the first book, a man who gives over his life to the service of the Master of the Universe in atonement for a heinous act. He is now hunted by a riddle posed by the Rebbe as the salvation for all the Jews, their future. And in the solving of that riddle, he is hunted with his choice. A choice that ultimately becomes the gift that Asher gives to the Master of the Universe because of his faith. A choice that ultimately atones for his own failure to reconciliation his own art and belief. A choice that atones for his own wife's past by showing her that there is a purpose to her life, the Master of the Universe does have a plan.

"Should I tell it to Devorah? Yes. I will tell it to her. Now. Listen to me my wife--
No.
She will recoil. Or she will grasp at it too swiftly, see it as the fulfillment of the Divine Plan she believes began with her years in that sealed apartment, and she will give herself to it entirely, mindlessly, dissolving herself in it, consumed by it. No. Let it come to her gradually. The Spaniard is right...telling me that some truths are best given in riddles. Sound advice. The advice of an artist's rebbe. A demonic rebbe, as it were, from the Other Side. Let the truth...be unriddled very slowly, so it does not strike with the force of lightening but is a gentle illumination, like a picture one learns to read color by color and shape by shape, one color or shape at a time." (pp346-7)(less)

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Apr 03, 2008 Arielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Both a profound and deeply humane book, The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok is a must-read. Though it is a sequel to the book, My Name is Asher Lev , and while Potok does a wonderful job of mending the two stories together, they can each be read independently since they each contain rich and meaningful plots of their own. The book deals with the struggle of a man, Asher Lev, who must once again face the Hasidic community that rejected him in earlier years. The book is thought provoking in that...more

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About Chaim Potok

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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Quotes from The Gift of Asher Lev

“Art begins . . . when someone interprets, when someone sees the world through his own eyes. Art happens when what is seen becomes mixed with the inside of the person who is seeing it.” — 32 people liked it

“Truth has to be given in riddles. People can't take truth if it comes charging at them like a bull. The bull is always killed. You have to give people the truth in a riddle, hide it so they go looking for it and find it piece by piece; that way they learn to live with it.” — 28 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11502.The_Gift_of_Asher_Lev?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327897993l/11502.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11502.The_Gift_of_Asher_Lev?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok[/url]

The Gift of Asher Lev

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