Life Reflections Inspired by The Chosen

Hands with pronged fingers reach upward, seemingly gasping for air. Their existence is fleeting as if they have somewhere else to be. The pops and crackles resemble soft gunshots. Red and orange apparitions appear for a split second before leaving and reappearing in another location nearby with greater vigor. The flames of a fire flicker in a sort of rhythmic dance before completely vanishing. The idiomatic phrase “lights my fire” draws on such depictions of passion, inspiration, motivation, and purpose. In chapter 13 of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, father and rabbi David Malter, talks to his son, Reuven, about something that lights his fire: advocating for a Jewish state. David tells Reuven: “Human beings do not live forever, [Reuven]. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value there is to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?” He paused again, his eyes misty now, then went on. “I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye itself is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning that is not automatically given to life. It is hard to work to fill one’s life with meaning…A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here. Do you understand what I am saying?” (217). This conversation between father and son is not only a very meaningful moment in the novel, but also caused me to think more deeply about my own life and how the same ideas apply.

In order to apply this conversation to the rest of the novel and my own life, it is first important to explain my interpretation of it; in this statement, David Malter essentially explains what he thinks is the meaning of life. In doing so, he touches upon many deep and philosophical concepts such as fulfillment, legacy*, time, and, mortality**. The main takeaway I had from what David Malter is about fulfillment. In my interpretation, he basically said is that life is meant to be spent doing what one loves and that is how one finds their own sense of purpose. Additionally, he explains that he thinks it is worth sacrificing to pursue one’s purpose and it is one’s responsibility to make sure that their life has a purpose and make the most of what the precious gift of life and time that they were so generously granted. He thinks there is an important distinction to be made between what one is born with, an opportunity, and what someone does with it, which is completely up to them. David’s approach to find purpose and cement his legacy lies in fighting for something he believes in. I think one reason David is willing to sacrifice for fulfillment is he knows that even when he is no longer alive, his accomplishment of establishing a Jewish state will be; he will have a legacy that lasts beyond his lifetime. Furthermore, he touches upon the opinion that the fact that life is bound by the limits of time makes it more meaningful. In my own experience, the presence of boundaries inherently entices people to challenge them which makes sense in this context because if the boundaries of time did not exist on life, people might not try to find meaning in a never-ending life. David indirectly references the concept of never-ending life and mortality in using the phrases “worthy of rest” and “no longer here” and sort-of acknowledges the boundary of death as a motivator. I interpret his use of the term “to be worthy of rest” to mean to have lived a life with a purpose so that the rest, after death, has been earned and “when I am not longer here” to reference a time where he will no longer be alive, actively existing and pursing his purpose, but his work will remain for years to come. But at the same time, part of his message is about how one should not focus on how little or much time there is left, and instead focus on what one is doing with the time one does have. All the elements and concepts that make up David’s interpretation of the meaning of life culminate in his actions such as his interactions and conversation with Reuven and his friend Danny.

The conversation contributes to my understanding of the novel’s central ideas by demonstrating the complex and nuanced relationships between David, Reuven, and Danny and their respective beliefs. In fact, the conversation sort-of serves as a microcosm for how David and Danny present an interesting juxtaposition of ideas and life paths resulting from those ideas. Although they do share a lot of the same beliefs, as shown by Danny coming to David for book recommendations, their lives are very different as a result of how they feel they should present themselves to the rest of the world. Whereas David spends a lot of time thinking about philosophy and the meaning of life, Danny is interested and learning about psychology while living the philosophical realities David so often references, like seeking fulfillment by pursuing one’s passion. While the passage demonstrates the differences between David and Danny, it shows the similarities between David and his son Reuven. Upon first reading the passage, I was immediately reminded of the conversation between Reuven and Danny had about what they want their future professions to be. Reuven asks Danny, “How can you spend your life doing what you don’t like?” (81). Like Reuven, I believe most people who spend their whole lives doing something they do not like are quite unhappy. During this conversation, I think Danny finally begins to realize that he does not want to spend the rest of his life as a Tzaddik which has big repercussions when Danny finally makes the decision to pursue psychology later on in the novel.

In addition to refining my understanding of the novel, the conversation also contributed to my understanding of my tiny span of life. Although it makes up just a small piece of my understanding of my place in the world, I do agree with what David has to say. The main reason I think I agree with him is because I agree with his biggest and boldest statement that life is meant to be enjoyed and spent doing what one loves to do. Moreover, so often, too often, I see people prioritizing other things over pursuing and achieving the greatest fulfillment from life that they possibly can. They prioritize fame, money, duty, and other people instead of focusing on the most direct path to happiness and fulfillment: the straight line – direct pursuit of what one really wants in life. People around me always emphasize how important it is to have a stable career, somehow minimizing the significance of having a fulfilling life. I find it highly irrational to downplay the importance of such an integral part of someone’s being in favor of stability or in fear of the unconventional and unguaranteed especially because nothing in life is actually guaranteed. People often think that if they accumulate enough money or attract enough attention from people that they will find happiness and meaning for their life when in reality, I think that is rarely the case. It seems like the longer people are around the more they are exposed to these fallacies and the more conditioned they are to think this way. I, on the other hand, think one should pursue what they like to do because I think it will a more fulfilling and successful path because I believe people are good at what they love to do. My logic is that when one loves to do something, it is a lot easier and also more enjoyable for them to do, and therefore it is likely that they will be better at it than something they do not like to do. It does not feel like as much of a responsibility or a burden to do what one loves to do. It is more like play than work. As my dad, someone who loves his job, always says, “if you love to do it, it does not feel like work.” My parents have raised me this way and I really hope they are right or else I will really have to rethink and re-inform some of the life choices I am going to make. I just hope I am not being foolishly optimistic, but even more so I hope that I never succumb to the even more foolish path of prioritizing other comparatively insignificant things over finding my purpose.

I am someone who will soon be applying to college and already thinks a lot about what they want their future life to look like, but if I am being completely honest, I do not really have something I can point to as what I want to endlessly and tirelessly pursue to give purpose to my life. Art (specifically photography and filmmaking), ethics, science, and, philosophy all interest me. One thing that I do know that I enjoy though, is thinking about all these big questions like the meaning of life, human nature, etc. and I know that it is a privilege to entertain, dissect, and ponder, ideas, while other people are focused on surviving – their sense of purpose is derived from merely getting from one day to the next. This makes me wonder a lot whether having freedom and choice in one’s future is a good thing and my conclusion at the moment is that while it is a burden, it is an opportunity that one can either hide from and ignore or stand up, face it, and try to make the most of it like Reuven and Danny. As soon as possible, I want to find what ignites my fire and keeping it burning until the day I die, as I hope we all do.

Some of my favorite quotes about the concepts from other novels:

*“There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after.”  ~ John Green, “The Fault in Our Stars”

**“Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live.” ~ Natalie Babbit, “Tuck Everlasting”