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little bit of that in Japan, courtesy of the United States military in which I became a chaplain. I came into that experience with a very neat coherent picture of what I was as an
American and what I was as a Jew. All that neat, antique coherence came undone in the fifteen and a half months that I spent in that part of the world. I remember when I was very, very young, being taught by my father and my teachers that paganism was intrinsically an abomination. I came to Japan and to Korea and saw pagan loveliness I never dreamed I could see. The sheer beauty of that pagan world overwhelmed me. Although it was manmade loveliness, its beauty was created by the human hand for the purposes of worship. I learned to appreciate the loveliness of God's world in a pagan land.
248:." However, "light" in the novel takes on a number of meanings other than the light of mysticism or faith: even the light of the atomic bomb that the father of Gershon's friend Arthur helped to create. As one scholarly reviewer puts it, "Pervasive light imagery provides a thematic structure for the novel."
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in Korea and in Japan, countries "where
Judaism has played no part, has had no reality, has never existed," and yet countries that seem to be touched by the light he had experienced through his studies of Kabbalah. Here he begins to see his faith, his people, and himself in a new light, in a way that
299:
The play was produced by the
Festival at the Harold Prince Theater, Annandale Center, in May 1992, receiving mixed reviews. It was directed by Rocamora, and starred Benjamin White as Gershon, and Matt Servito as Arthur. Reviewer Clifford A. Ridley described the script as a transformation of the book
226:
What about a confrontation where the end result is no answers at all, but only questions? That's what The Book of Lights is all about. Admittedly a rather difficult book, deliberately so because of the difficult problems it deals with. I spent fifteen and a half months of my life in Korea and a
273:
she describes the scene in the novel where
Gershon and Leiden watch a religious Buddhist in a shrine in Japan, prompting Gershon to ask his friend whether he thinks that God is listening to this man's prayers. "If he is", Gershon asks, "then what are we all about?" As Eck puts it,
282:
is listening, then how are we to speak of ourselves as people of faith among other peoples of faith? Is our God listening? It is a disarmingly simple question... But this simple question leads us into the most profound theological, social, and political issues of our
198:
Described as "psychological fiction" or "psychological realism," the novel takes place during the years 1950–57. It is divided into three periods: Gershon's rabbinical school days in New York City; service as a chaplain in Korea; time spent in Japan, including visits to
231:
Potok's experiences as a military chaplain in Asia after the war inform some of his descriptions of war and its aftermath in this novel—including the dropping of the atomic bombs and the suffering of its victims—but would later form the basis of his 1992 work,
264:
The novel was widely discussed within religious circles as one that asked profoundly important questions about God and about ourselves in a world where we begin to encounter, sometimes for the first time, those of other faiths. In
311:, where it was described as "a drama of aura and far-reaching ambition... disturbing theater... raises more questions than it answers, perhaps Potok's purpose; but it provides an evening of thoughtful play-going."
218:
like many of Potok's novels, explores "the tension between tradition and modernity, and the clash between Jewish culture and contemporary
Western civilization, which he calls 'core-to-core culture confrontation.'
182:
The novel's central character is
Gershon Loran, a young rabbi who is "the product of a parochial New York Jewish upbringing," who is "irresistibly drawn to the study of the Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah."
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into a play "of satisfying dramatic shape," but noted that the pacing of the play, "with its frequent and seemingly interminable pauses, is simply too much of... well, of nothing at all."
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If we conclude that "our God" is not listening, then we had better ask how we are to speak of God at all as people of faith in a world of many faiths. But if we suspect that
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In response to a request from Carol
Rocamora, Producer/Director of the Philadelphia Festival of New Plays, Potok wrote stage adaptations of a number of his works, including
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The novel was first published
October 16, 1981, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. It was released as a paperback by Fawcett Crest in November 1982.
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Potok writes that the inspiration for this novel came from his own service as an Army
Chaplain in Korea and Japan. Potok writes:
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The novel's title is a translation of a classic kabbalistic text, "Sefer HaZohar," commonly referred to simply as the "
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Raised by an aunt and uncle after his parents are killed in 1937, in terrorist cross-fire in
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challenges his thinking about the meaning of faith in a world of "light" from many sources.
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Chaim Potok's 'Book of Lights': Reappropriating
Kabbalah in the nuclear age,
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Chaim Potok, 73, Dies; Novelist illuminated the world of Hassidic Judaism,
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Chaim Potok's 'The Play of Lights,' a new work based on his 1981 novel
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where the idea of the cruelty and futility of war takes center stage.
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207:, along with Arthur Leiden, a classmate from rabbinical school.
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Volume 21, Number 1, Spring 1989, retrieved October 28, 2012
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Chaim Potok; Chaim Potok Daniel Walden (1 August 2001).
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Chaim Potok publications website: author's comments
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271:God: A spiritual journey from Bozeman to Banaras,
563:God: A spiritual journey from Bozeman to Banaras
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828:Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews
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648:von Maurer, William 'Bill' (April 28, 1993),
195:casts doubt on his beliefs and his thinking.
127:Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews
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463:Sanford V. Sternlicht (30 September 2000).
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502:July 24, 2002, retrieved October 28, 2012
650:"Disturbing Drama at Hollywood Theater"
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303:The play was also performed in 1993 in
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296:a two-act play based on this novel.
620:Ridley, Clifford A (May 19, 1992),
590:The Guide: A Theatergoer's Resource
960:Books with cover art by Paul Bacon
14:
466:Chaim Potok: A Critical Companion
356:(synopsis), La Sierra, dustjacket
166:whose service as a United States
885:Novels set during the Korean War
688:Audio interview with Chaim Potok
543:Chaim Potok publications website
97:Print (hardback & paperback)
900:Novels about military chaplains
333:(set), Yahoo!, 23 December 2010
469:. Greenwood Publishing Group.
410:. Univ. Press of Mississippi.
407:Conversations With Chaim Potok
1:
965:Japan in non-Japanese culture
545:, retrieved October 27, 2012.
450:, retrieved October 27, 2012.
170:in Korea and Japan after the
950:Plays about Jews and Judaism
533:, retrieved October 28, 2012
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309:South Florida Sun Sentinel
327:"Modern first editions",
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16:1981 novel by Chaim Potok
940:Plays about the military
905:Fiction set in the 1950s
684:, Jewish Virtual Library
519:Religion and literature,
875:Jewish American novels
569:, Boston: Beacon Press
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955:Alfred A. Knopf books
895:Novels about religion
880:Novels by Chaim Potok
774:The Gift of Asher Lev
731:Reuven Malther novels
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935:Plays about religion
920:Plays by Chaim Potok
870:1981 American novels
766:My Name Is Asher Lev
945:Novels about rabbis
915:Novels set in Korea
910:Novels set in Japan
294:The Play of Lights,
216:The Book of Lights,
154:is a 1981 novel by
31:First edition cover
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20:The Book of Lights
930:Plays set in Japan
925:Plays set in Korea
801:The Book of Lights
446:2012-12-10 at the
151:The Book of Lights
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820:Non-fiction books
531:Amazon.com review
476:978-0-313-31181-9
417:978-1-57806-346-8
385:(summary), eNotes
168:military chaplain
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116:978-0-4492-4569-9
86:Publication place
47:Cover artist
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758:Asher Lev novels
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511:Soll, Will,
482:15 November
423:15 November
389:October 28,
360:October 27,
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156:Chaim Potok
41:Chaim Potok
864:Categories
847:The Chosen
739:The Chosen
350:"Lights",
315:References
288:Adaptation
211:Background
192:Korean War
172:Korean War
51:Paul Bacon
267:Diana Eck
260:Reception
201:Hiroshima
188:Palestine
65:Publisher
626:, Philly
444:Archived
178:Synopsis
164:Kabbalah
57:Language
305:Florida
280:our God
60:English
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382:Ebooks
330:Flickr
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37:Author
596:, PCS
594:(PDF)
567:(PDF)
353:Potok
283:time.
246:Zohar
240:Title
205:Kyoto
160:rabbi
102:Pages
666:2012
632:2012
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471:ISBN
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