Talmud

Danny Saunders is just like any other kid who feels forced into doing what his dad wants him to do. Throughout the book Danny is forced to study, learn, and reiterate knowledge of the Talmud to practice his Hasidic faith. His father, Reb Saunders, does not even speak to him unless it is about the Talmud or the study of it. Danny is conflicted with his traditional way of religion and his new found love for psychoanalytic. However with his love for psychology, he soon becomes more modernized with religion instead of his once traditional way of it. Throughout the book, the author, Chaim Potok, shows the transitions in numerous ways in the character Danny Saunders. In the beginning of the book, Danny’s softball team is described by Reuven, the main character, by the looks of their appearance. Reuven states that they are all uniform with their traditional ear locks and closely cropped hair. This appearance to Reuven makes him assume they are very traditional Jews. However as the game progresses, Danny’s softball team talked a lot of smacked to Reuven’s team…

studying Talmud together. Despite their differences in culture, family life, and ambition Danny and Reuven both enjoy baseball and have the same basic beliefs in the Jewish…

Judaism is viewed to be important because it is viewed that the study of Jewish text revealed how Judaism continues to change to meet the needs of Jews in different situations. Unlike orthodox Judaism, conservative Judaism affirms that the halachic process supports the idea of divine will. There are four standards to the committee on Jewish law and standard, which are: Rabbis and cantors are prohibited to officiate at intermarriages in anyway, The performance of remarriages without an acceptable…

baseball together. However, Hasidic Orthodox Jews forbid any relationship or mixing with secular people in fear that they’ll adopt their ideas and abandon their own. Even when Danny wanted to be Reuven’s friend he needed his father’s permission. Reuven had to prove himself a worthy Jew to Reb Saunders and was even tested in one of the scriptures he quoted in dinner. Danny’s desire to broaden his schooling from only studying Jewish Talmud to worldly authors and ideologies is taken away from his…

Without the rabbis’ interpretations, God’s texts would not be able to do what it originally intended: to be applied to daily life. Interpretation became essential since the Torah was viewed as a guide for moral conduct and due to the Torah being ancient, it had to be adapted in order to stay relevant to Jews. Through the rabbis clarifying certain laws, only then did the Talmud become a source of moral conduct. For example, in Exodus, a text read “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” in…

America. After Danny and Reuven overcome their initial enmity, they quickly become close friends. They are described as being “similar enough to become best friends, yet different enough to change each other 's view of the world”(sparknotes). They are drawn to each other by their mutual intelligence, and Reuven 's honest and out-going personality is a needed complement to Danny 's quiet and brooding spirit. Early on in their friendship Danny reveals his dissatisfaction with his Hasidic faith.…

wisdom in raising children, and wisdom for the world fraught with persecution of the Jews. Thus, the two children themselves must show wisdom in deciding which viewpoint shows validity. Surely, wisdom displays most profoundly in the Zionist, David Malter, anti-Zionist, Reb Saunders, and the influenced child of Reb Saunders child, Danny Saunders. By setting an example of thinking and character, David Malter has acted as an excellent father for both his son, Reuven, and even the friend of his…

conducting synagogue services in Hebrew, as well as seeing themselves as the chosen ones. Given its comparable beliefs, Conservative Judaism is a liberal version of Orthodox Judaism in terms of traditions and rules such as Sabbath, interpretation of the Torah, and the role of women. Orthodox Judaism is differentiated by its meticulous regulations, traditions, and segregation in the synagogue. Orthodox Jews have strict principles of moral thought and action that support the teachings of the…

Solomon Schechter brought it to America in the 1880s. Basically founded as a compromise, combining elements of both Reform and Orthodox Judaism. Over 1.1 million adherents worldwide. 1 million of these Conservative Jews live in the United States. Driving not allowed on the Sabbath. Intermarriages are not allowed. Converts must be circumcised and baptized (called a mikveh immersion). Women are completely equal to men and can be rabbis. Kosher does not have to be followed. 7 Core Values: 1.…

Rav. Jacob Kalman, one of Reuven’s teachers who has survived a Nazi death camp has Reuven choose between his views and his father’s view. Rav Kalman has seen Reuven at The Zechariah Frankel Seminary meeting with Abraham Gordon and tells him he should not meet with Gordon because he has been excommunicated for his books that question the foundations of Judaism or set foot in The Zechariah Frankel Seminary ever again because it unclean. Rav. Kalman tells Reuven that he cannot agree with his father…