Chaim Potok, Gr'65, Hon'83
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Chaim Potok, Gr'65, Hon'83, is a rabbi and author of scholarly and popular works. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and received a degree in English literature from Yeshiva University and a degree in Hebrew literature from Jewish Theological Seminary. After ordination as a Conservative rabbi, he served for two years as a chaplain with the U.S. Army in Korea. He later earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Besides teaching at several colleges and universities, including
Penn, he was managing editor of Conservative Judaism and
editor in chief of the Jewish Publication Society of America,
where he later became special projects editor.
Dr. Potok has written in many genres, including novels, plays, children's literature,
historical and contemporary nonfiction, short stories, and popular and scholarly
articles. His best-selling novels include The Chosen (which earned the Edward
Lewis Wallant Award), The Promise (which received the Athenaeum Prize), The
Gift of Asher Lev (which garnered the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction),
and The Book of Lights. In 1999 he received an O. Henry Award for the short
story "Moon." Among his nonfiction works are Chaim Potok's History
of the Jews and The Gates of November.
Dr. Potok has written in many genres, including novels, plays, children's literature, historical and contemporary nonfiction, short stories, and popular and scholarly articles. His best-selling novels include The Chosen (which earned the Edward Lewis Wallant Award), The Promise (which received the Athenaeum Prize), The Gift of Asher Lev (which garnered the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction), and The Book of Lights. In 1999 he received an O. Henry Award for the short story "Moon." Among his nonfiction works are Chaim Potok's History of the Jews and The Gates of November.