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The Chosen, a la Shmoop. You have been chosen... to watch this video.

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It probably comes as no surprise . . . . . . but there were a whole lot of people

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who got to this planet before you did. They came up with languages . . .

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. . . customs . . . . . . and traditions . . .

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. . . that are still pretty popular today. In The Chosen, Danny Saunders wants to honor

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his past . . . . . . and the traditions that he loves . . .

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. . . without losing his dream of studying psychology.

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But Danny's father wants him to become a rabbi and take over as head of his Hasidic dynasty.

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Sounds great.

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Danny's a stone cold genius. And while Rabbis are supposed to be the best and brightest,

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there still remains one small problem: Danny doesn't want to be a rabbi.

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Danny's dilemma makes us wonder . . .

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. . . what is our real duty in life? What do we owe ourselves? And what do we owe others?

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Should we put aside our own dreams for the greater good of our community?

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Or should we follow our own path regardless of the consequences?

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There's quite a bit about our lives that are chosen for us.

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Our parents get us going in many ways -- they help mold our religious and political views,

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encourage our good ideas, while discouraging our bad ones...

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Or maybe it has nothing to do with choice. Maybe it's all just fate.

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In that case, we should just accept the path that the universe has chosen for us . . .

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. . . and stop whining. But what if our dreams are just too strong

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to put on hold? Shouldn't we be able to pursue them without

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worrying about letting our community down? After all, despite what some people say . . .

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. . . we only get one life.

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Danny didn't want to hurt his father, or dishonor his family or his religion...

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. . . and he hoped his dad would come to be proud of him, even if he was being a bit of

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a rebel...with or without a cause. So the big question here:

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What should you do if your dreams conflict with those of the people who are counting

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on you?

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Should you just go with the flow and not make waves . . .

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. . . or should you hunker down and take a stand?

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Honoring the past doesn't mean we have to live in

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it . . . . . . even if that's what some people want

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to do.

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So, can we find a way to serve our people and ourselves?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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