I didn't get to the book, yet.

Aw, crap. I was looking forward to your input.

Potok touches on a lot of this in The Chosen, though (one of my favorite books, ever), because the book centers on the friendship between an Orthodox boy and a Hassidic boy.

I guess he writes what he knows. Didn't he grow up as an Orthodox Jew?

I guess he writes what he knows. Didn't he grow up as an Orthodox Jew?

I think so.

My plan is to get it this afternoon. I'm a fast reader. By the time you're back from Rosh Hashanah, I should have read it. (Oh, and L'shanah tovah).

How sad for Asher’s mother, though. Her encouragement of his gift forces her to make unpleasant choices.

I got the impression that his mother might have had some of Asher's talent, because she understands more of what's driving him. At least insofar as being willing to take him to the museum and being a buffer between him and his father.

The discussion of crucifixtion as metaphor vs. historical/religious truth was also interesting. If I remember correctly, Asher tried to find some other symbol that would be less objectionable to his community and realized there was none.

Asher's own awareness of the grief he's causing and his struggle between the two deepy felt imperatives of artistic truth and love of his community were the most moving themes.

I've read the sequel. It's not as intense as this one, because Asher's a man and not so dependent on the community for his validation, but it does go into the price he pays for his truth.

I got the impression that his mother might have had some of Asher's talent, because she understands more of what's driving him. At least insofar as being willing to take him to the museum and being a buffer between him and his father.

I think, not that she had his talent, but that she understood what an unfulfilled mission/purpose whatever - what a tragedy that could be. Her brother's mission was left undone. The only thing that could put her soul to rest about the loss of him was to finish it.

I was a little disturbed at times at how much Asher discounted the pain he was causing his parents. I know Faulkner said, "If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' is worth any number of old ladies." I suppose that holds for artists too, but I would have liked Asher to feel worse about it.

I was also interested in the emphasis on his name. Not only is the title and first line "My name is Asher Lev," but there are several times he repeats that through the book. Is it because the book is so much about forming an identity that is at odds with his background? Is he claiming his heritage even as he rejects it?

was also interested in the emphasis on his name. Not only is the title and first line "My name is Asher Lev," but there are several times he repeats that through the book. Is it because the book is so much about forming an identity that is at odds with his background? Is he claiming his heritage even as he rejects it?

Interesting. It's also repeated everywhere, not only as in "I am Asher Lev" or "My name is Asher Lev" but also with mention of his father "Asher Lev son of Aryeh Lev"

It was only after the Crucifixion paintings that the Rebbe understood. Art is not a discipline whose study and practice can be controlled or directed. And that's when the Rebbe sends him away.

I think the Rebbe understood before that. I think that that's why the Rebbe insisted Asher take French in high school. If it were only for being able to read art books and function more in the art world, then Jacob Kahn would have told him to do it. I think the French was a contingency plan -- the Rebbe knew that a Ladover community was growing in Paris, and making sure Asher could speak French was a way of making sure that he'd have a place to go if it did become too much of a conflict between his art and his community.

I was a little disturbed at times at how much Asher discounted the pain he was causing his parents.

It seemed to me like he was struggling with it, a lot. He was always aware of it, and it always pained him, but he couldn't just do what they wanted him to do, either. I thought that was half the point of the crucifiction painting -- he knew how much he was hurting his mother, but he didn't have a choice about it, just as his father didn't have a choice about traveling.

The discussion of crucifixtion as metaphor vs. historical/religious truth was also interesting. If I remember correctly, Asher tried to find some other symbol that would be less objectionable to his community and realized there was none.

He didn't really try too hard. There are a number of symbols in Jewish lore that represent the ideas of self-sacrifice, martyrdom and faith that I think Asher was trying to convey. I think some more accurate reasons that he chose to go with the crucifix (despite his stated excuses) were: a) it's the most widely known symbol for those ideas he was trying to convey; b) as a result of his own extensive study of art in depictions of Christian scenes, it accurately reflects his own artistic vision, notwithstanding that he's an observant Jew; and c) his audience would not relate to an equivalent Judeo symbol, which ties in a little bit to b) because at that stage neither would he.

I was a little disturbed at times at how much Asher discounted the pain he was causing his parents. I know Faulkner said, "If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' is worth any number of old ladies." I suppose that holds for artists too, but I would have liked Asher to feel worse about it.

I was pretty disgusted with our hero that he couldn't even warn his own parents of what they were about to face. I suspect if they hadn't already suspected and asked about his nudes, he never would have told them about those paintings either and they would have had a similar embarassment at an earlier show. I was rooting for Asher to fulfill his artistic potential, but I liked his parents more than I did him.

I think the Rebbe understood before that. I think that that's why the Rebbe insisted Asher take French in high school. If it were only for being able to read art books and function more in the art world, then Jacob Kahn would have told him to do it. I think the French was a contingency plan -- the Rebbe knew that a Ladover community was growing in Paris, and making sure Asher could speak French was a way of making sure that he'd have a place to go if it did become too much of a conflict between his art and his community.

I agree, Hil. But I don't think the Rebbe expected Asher to break the taboos he did and end up where he does at the end of the book. I think he anticipated using Asher like you said, but in a similar way to his parents, not as an outcast.

I was pretty disgusted with our hero that he couldn't even warn his own parents of what they were about to face.

The impression that I got was that he didn't know *how* to tell them. He knew it was the last straw, and he just didn't have the maturity to go to them and say "I've done something that will offend and upset you, but I had no other way."