Intro and Prologue Summary and Analysis

The Gates of November by Chaim Potok tells the tale of the Slepak family. The father is a Jewish high-ranking communist officer, and his son is an anti-Communist. This novel shows how both generations struggled to survive throughout Russia's turbulent history.

The introduction of the book offers a brief history of the conflict between the Russians and the Jews. Present-day Russia originated with Finnish and Slavic tribes, who migrated around the eighth century of the Common Era. They chose the Scandinavian Russ as their rulers and created Kievan Russia, with Kiev as their leading city. According to tombstone inscriptions, Jewish communities thrived on the Black Sea shores during the third century before the Common Era. They were persecuted by the Greek Orthodox Church of Byzantium during the early centuries of the Common Era, and they fled to...