My Name Is Asher Lev

My Name Is Asher Lev is a novel by Chaim Potok, an American author and rabbi. The book’s protagonist is Asher Lev, a Hasidic Jewish boy in New York City. Asher is a loner with artistic inclinations. His art, however, causes conflicts with his family and other members of his community. The book follows Asher’s maturity as both an artist and a Jew. Potok asserted that the conflict between tradition and individualism is constant and that the tension between religion and art is lifelong. Potok was, as well as an author, a painter, and his personal struggle is apparent in his painting titled Brooklyn Crucifixion. And yet despite this seemingly agonizing struggle, Potok remained active as an artist/writer and engaged in the religion of his upbringing until his death in 2002. Potok continued Asher Lev’s story in the book The Gift of Asher Lev.