Chaim Potok "wrote of what he knew best, Jewish-Americans in the 20th century struggling with two contradictory yet valid points of view," according to Shirley Saad writing for the United Press International. In such popular and award-winning books as The Chosen, The Promise, My Name Is Asher Lev, and Davita's Harp, Potok reached an audience of millions of readers all ages throughout the United States and around the world. An ordained rabbi, Potok never saw himself in a traditional religious role. He worked as a writer, rabbi, and professor, often concerning himself with Orthodox and Hasidic Jews and how they merge their beliefs with twentieth-century life. Robert J. Milch wrote in the Saturday Review: "Judaism was at the center of all [Potok's] works. . . . [It motivated] his characters and provided the basis for their way of looking at themselves, each other, and the world." For Liz Stevens, writing in...