In the Beginning: A Novel Paperback – September 10, 1997

“All beginnings are hard,” the first four words in Potok’s novel, drew me in. “Yes, I thought. And so are endings." Though Potok’s novel is about beginnings and endings in the Lurie family, the theme is a universal one.A marvelous book of clear, straight forward writing that tells not just one story but dozens …hundreds, that show the struggles of the Jewish people. The spotlight shines on David Lurie, son of Max Lurie, and his family—the one he lives with, the extended family with whom they share bread and traditions, the family in Poland, dead ancestors…all influence David. The members of the Jewish community with whom the family associates and the wider world also affect him. From neighborhood bullies to the dark news from Europe, David’s beginnings are a trial.David is the center, as we all are, of a network, a web of relationships and culture. Everything he reads and listens to, everyone he talks with, what he learns in the yeshiva, the era and place in which in lives…all of it influences David’s beginning, and his beginning affects the rest of his life. Named after his mother’s first husband, David’s name is significant. After his uncle David, Max Lurie’s younger brother, was killed in Poland, Max married David’s young widow and moved to America to escape Nazism. Life in Poland ended; life in America began.The growing family lives in New York surrounded by those who believe as the Luries do and by those who despise Jews for no discernible reason. Potok’s vivid desciptions make it possible to see and hear the life on the streets of the Bronx in the 1930s and 1940s. It’s not always pretty. David and his family and friends lived with exclusion, cruelty, and hatred.Ultimately, David makes a decision that will affect him and his family for the rest of their lives. He struggled with his choice and knew he had to do it, “it” being the end of life as it had been to make way for the beginning of another. Naturally, this had a ripple effect on those in his network.There are too many things I liked about the book to write them all, so I’ll just mention a couple:*I learned a lot, including vocabulary (Mishnah, Gemara, Kiddish, and dozens more terms); how Jews take care of one another, even those whom they’ve perhaps never met; and Jewish practices and beliefs.*Potok’s descriptions, especially of the weather and of nature. Here’s one of my favorite sentences: “The river ran with a silken sound, gathering in little pools upon the stones, murmuring softly the hopes of all beginnings.”All beginnings are hard….Endings lead to beginnings.

As in his other novels such as The Chosen and Asher Lev, Chaim Potok writes about growing up Orthodox in 20th century America. Potok who was initially educated in Yeshiva University an (modern) Orthodox seminary, later transferred and was ordained as a Conservative rabbi at the JewishTheological Seminary JTS. His gradual transition from traditional orthodox education to embracing "modern" ie "critical" scholarship is reflected in his protagonists, here David Lurie (and earlier in The Chosen by the Malters)Potok documents his characters struggles but needs to justify his characters choices by implying that David's Orthodox Talmud teacher R Scharfman (a thinly veiled reference to R J Soloveitchik of YU) encouraged his choice of academic Bible study (despite recognizing that it would undermine his Orthodox heritage)Somehow Potok seems to imply that the anti Semitic bullying that Davie faces at the hand of his gentile neighbor is no different than the schoolyard bullying he later faces at the hand of his classmate. It's unclear what exactly Potoks point is meant to be and he leaves both storylines incomplete.Potok does an admirable job of describing the trials and tribulations of his characters but one can't help but sense Potoks writes from a need tto justify his own personal life choices

One of Potok’s best. This story stays with you.

The book is vintage Potok: big-hearted, with an outsized respect, especially in contrast to these days, for religious (or any other) scholarship and a sense that the physically frail among us may have more to offer than the big, brawny and beautiful who are usually elevated by society. If you love character in your novels, you will love Potok and this book. It provides a look inside a very insular community during a particularly difficult time: the Depression that occurred shortly after many of them arrived in America to take refuge from pogroms in Europe; the nascent emergence of the state of Israel; and the Nazi holocaust. It's a coming of age story for the main character, for America, and for the Jewish community.But the Kindle edition: oh, my. There must be 500 missing periods in the book. The word "life" twice appears as Ufe, and there are a number of other typos that seem to be the result of using OCR scanning to bring the book to an e-Book audience. It is readable, but you do sometimes have to backtrack to supply the missing periods. It's great to have older, wonderful books available electronically. I would like to hope the publishers will eventually take the time to honor the e-Book versions with adequate copy-editing. But I won't hold my breath.

Painful story of hatred and prejudice

See my title, Just read it, let it develop. You won’t regret it. Enjoy the view into a unique culture and the lessons it brings.

I hated this book, and then I loved it. It was the most boring book I have ever read, and then it was so exciting. I cannot categorize it because I can find no category for it. It is the story of a brilliant minded Jewish boy who with his family is grounded in his faith. It hurts his family and his church when he becomes a secular Bible scholar. The author's writing mechanics were excellent. The symbolism was rich. The author takes the reader through a multitude of happenings that result in a multitude of emotions.Thank you, Mr. Potok, for a good read.

David Lurie, a brilliant sickly boy aged 6 to late teens, perceives the shock of the depression, and the growing horrors unleashed by Hitler. He is bullied by two Polish Christian boys and a Jewish boy. It is interesting that due to oppressiveanti- semitism Jews escaped from Poland to Germany before the rise of Hitler. 150 relatives including grandparents were wiped out by the Nazis. He had an open enquiring mind and defied his family and friends and decides to go to a secular university, The story is presented in a non-sentimental way; it is the boy's experience overlapped with his learning of the horrible things going on. It ends on a positive note.

This is one of Potok's more complex works. Although some of the troops of the book will be familier to those who have read other Potok Novels (The Chosen, the Promise, the Book of Lights, e.c.t.,) they are more subtle in this work than others. The story focuses on the growing up off David Lurie, in a New York Jewish family before and during the great depression. As with many of Potoks work much of the action takes place in a Jewish religious framework (a Jewish School and yeshivah) and another familer Potokian theme is that of what to when confronted with a truth that may challenge ones life-style or belief. The style of the book is more fragmented than some of Potoks other works and is written from the prespective of a man (possible an old man) looking back on his life and remembering what happened. Rather than as a 'real time' novel. I greatly enjoyed this novel. It is, perhaps, not as easy as the Promise. But it is worth the effort. Maybe not the best Potok novel to start with but it will be welcomed by any Potok fans, or indeed others who will give it the time it deserves.

Not bad

per tutti gli appassionati di Potok, un altro libro che assolutamente non delude e che come sempre fa desiderare di leggerne altri delllo stesso autore

Three stars because the wear on the book was more than expected.