Fun Facts Friday: Chaim Potok

Chaim Potok (17 February, 2017 – 23 July, 2002) is an American author and rabbi whose writings feature characters struggling with religious and secular views.

Books by Chaim Potok*

1)      Mr. Potok was born in the Bronx, NY to Polish immigrants.

2)      The author’s birth name is Herman Harold Potok. Chaim is his Jewish name.

3)      Mr. Potok was a secular Rabbi.

4)      He met his wife, Adena, at Camp Ramah Ojai, California where he was the director.

5)      Mr. Potok served in South Korea as a 1^st Lieutenant in the US Army in a front-line medical battalion and in engineer combat battalion.

6)      The time in South Korea was an eye opening experience to Mr. Potok. Believing that the Jewish peole were central to God’s plan and history, he came to a region with no Jews, and hence no anti-Semitism, yet the people prayed in the same fervor he was used to seeing in a synagogue.

7)      The Chosen, Mr. Potok’s first book, was on the New York Times best seller list for 39 weeks.

8)      Not only was he a successful author, Mr. Potok was also a painter.

9)     The Chosen was adapted into a motion picture by the same name, and even a short lived Broadway musical.

10)   One of Mr. Potok’s admirers was Elie Wiesel, author and Nazi hunter.

Books by Chaim Potok*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account

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