The Chosen Religion Quotes

This is the hardest question in the book. Why did the Holocaust – which killed some six million Jews, as well as Gypsies, gay people, and lots of others – happen? It’s an incredibly difficult thing to talk about. Here, the Reb is speaking directly to his God, on behalf of the dead, on behalf of the Jewish people. To all the critics who claim the Reb is a flat character, we send a hearty, pshaw.

It sounds at first as if David is trying to bypass God, but he isn’t. He’s accepting that we can’t know what God will do. David is expressing a view of Judaism where the all work is done on Earth for the Earth. David also expresses idealism in the idea of a dual homeland and an Israel-America bond. All of this is just as touchy today as it was back then.

Here, two-thirds of the way through the novel, the Reb expresses very isolating ideas. He’s got extreme love and extreme fear going on. We’re told constantly that he is suffering for his people. He’s afraid that if men who aren’t utterly pure try to rebuild the Holy Land, the wrath of God will rain down on humankind, and it will all be his fault.