Remember Asher Lev? We met him here. 

Since we left off with young Asher, he’s grown up and gotten famous. In Chaim Potok’s sequel, The Gift of Asher Lev, we learn that the world knows him for his two paintings of the crucifixion. If you’re wondering why a Jew would touch that subject, well, so does everybody else in his Brooklyn synagogue. No wonder Asher went off to live in France.

He marries a French Jewish woman with a history of her own. He sires children. He launches a show in Paris, which earns him a mound of bad reviews. This throws Asher into a creative slump.

His uncle back in Brooklyn dies and the family calls Asher home for the funeral. Uncle Yitzhak not only loved him, but encouraged his gift. Of course, Asher wants to pay his respects. After a week back in the old neighborhood, he can return to France to repair his career.

But Mama and Papa invent reason after reason to extend his visit. We miss seeing our grandchildren. Your wife is lovely. The Rebbe wishes to speak with you.

Art and religion will always rub against each other like a stiff shoe and a tender heel. Faith demands practical effort, relieving human suffering in this world while pointing us toward the next. Art travels a side road. First of all, the artist never shows up for all the Mother Teresa work and, second, his art wanders freely off the strait and narrow path.

Though the wise Old Rebbe respects Asher’s gift, and his free will too, he calls him in for frequent talks. Clearly, he wants something from this native son. What could it be?

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Photo: Deposits Photos