The book of lights door Chaim Potok

The story

Gershon Loran grows up by his uncle and his aunt. After his parents died in a war between the Jewish people and the Palestinians, he lives in a poor district and he goes to school at the Yeshiva. He is an average pupil and he doesn't have a lot of friends. Once when he was a child, he saw the birth of some pups. He felt all caught up in the life of heaven and earth, in the mistery of creation (page 6). Here starts his interest in mysticism. God created the first light for the earth. He is obsessed by the fact how life is created.
After he finishes the Yeshiva he goes to the non-orthodox seminary, so he is going to be a Rabbi. He isn't really interested in the study, but he doesn't know what else he can do.
In the second year of his study, a new professor arrives, called Jacob Keter. Jacob Keter teaches the Kabbalah, this is the Jewish mysticism of the 13th century. Gershon is very interested in the Kabbalistic manuscripts. The Jewish community and the other professors of his school are sceptical about the Kabbalah because inexplicable and it is born out of the Torah. Another Professor, Malkuson claims it is better to study the Torah.
Gershon doesn't live at home anymore, now his roommate is Arthur Leiden. Arthurs' father is a scientist who discovered the atomic bomb. When the students hear that they have to make themselves available for the army, navy or airforce everybody is shocked. Especially Arthur, because he lost his brother in the war against the Nazis.
In the summer holiday Gershon starts to work in a children's camp in the northern hill country of Pennsilvania. Arthur sents him some strange postcards with teksts Gershon doesn't understand. It's about the atomic bomb.
In the next school year Gershon is chosen for a new award: The Richard Leiden Memorial Award, (A memorial because Richard died in the war against the Nazi's) because of his good academic record. It means that he has one year longer to study the Kabbalah with professor Keter.
Then Gershon's exams start. He passes them with high marks. On the presentation of the diploma's the Leiden family and Albert Einstein are also there to hold a speech. Also his proud uncle, aunt and Karen, his girlfriend, are present.
After this year Gershon has to go to Korea. He is placed in the Medical Battalion as a Jewish Chaplain. Everybody respects him. Then he is being transferred to another batallion in Seoul. He doesn't like it there.
Arthur is released from his chaplaincy obligation. He doesn't feel good by the idea that he is the only one who is released, so he goes to Korea as a volunteer. He becomes the new Chaplain at the Medical Batillion.
He really wants to go to Japan with Gershon, and he can't wait. The first time they want to go, Arthur gets ill, because he eats the food of the Korean population. (He tries to help the local population, because he thinks he has to make up for his father's mistakes.)
The next attempt they go to Hong Kong and Japan. In Japan, first they go to Kyoto, Arthur is in love with the city of Kyoto. They have a wonderful time right there. Gershon wants to stay longer, but Arthur simply has to go to Heroshima.
In Hiroshima, Arthur is very confused. He buys some postcards with terrible texts about the war and the atomic bomb. He says 'Kaddish' at the monument. His traumatic experience from the war gets worse and he can't sleep without sleeping pills anymore.
When they return in Seoul, Arthur wants to go back to Japan, especially to Kyoto. A colleague
gets a message that Gershon has to go to Japan. First he doesn't want to go but Arthur persuades him to go. To please Arthur, at the last minute the colleague gives his place to Arthur. The playn crashes and Arthur dies.
When Gershon is released of military duty, he visits Arthur's parents. They show him the only letter Arthur wrote at the time in Korea. Usually Arthur wrote some cryptic postcards. After this letter and the visit he understands more about Arthur. He discovers that Charles and Elisabeth Leiden had arranged of the fact that Gershon was always near to Arthur.
When he is at home, in New York, he visits Karen. She has got a job in Chicago, now Gershon doesn't know what to do. He visits professor Malkuson, when he talks to him, he understands that he must go on studying the Kabbalah. He goes to Jerusalem, to Jacob Keter. The light is very clear in Jerusalem. He knows it is a good choice.

Characters

When Gershon Loran is at the Yeshiva, he doesn't have friends and his results are not very good. He can't make decisions, also after the Yeshiva he has no idea what to do. When he gets a prize he doesn't know if he has to accept it. When he discoveres the Kabbalistic manuscripts 'he feels the light inside of him'. He was always interested in mysticism (like the incident with the dog on the roof). He is obsessed by the light, like all mysticians. The light is always involved by his feelings. When he feels good, the light is clear and the light makes the environment pretty. When something sad happens, there is a shadow hanging over it, or the light is dazzled. Gershon often has visions, about his professors, Malkuson and Keter and about other things that obsess him. When he feels sad he hears some voices, usually when he sleeps. The voices are correcting mistakes Gershon. Gershon also has "out of body experiences", sometimes when he sleeps and when he hears voices, he goes to an other place. At the end of the story he had such an experience, and he was on the roof of his apertment. (This is the place where the pups were born at the moment they dropped the atomic bomb on Heroshima, at that moment there was a strange light in the sky). When he was on the roof (in his sleep), he knew he had to go to Jerusalem. Gershon believes that the Jewish religion made a fundamental difference in the world. But in Korea he changed his mind. This is a country where the Judaism has played no part, has had no reality and has never existed. The secure life he always led, starts to dissolve into unreality and doubt. For example, Arthur's father, he is a Jewish man, created the atomic bomb. In Japan, Gershon discoveres another land, untouched by Judaism. It seems to be made of pure light. First, he only saw the light in the Kabbalah. Here he has a vision again, and he starts to understand that when the Jewish religion wants to survive, it must be a living religion. Gershon has endured a development. He changed from a doubter, to a man who found the light. Now he knows what he has to do his the future and that he has to go to Jerusalem. He chooses the Kaballah, probably because he knows that answers will be difficult to find in any other way. The Talmud doesn't have answers, only prayer. Maybe this will give him the knowledge that he needs to have to understand the ways of the world.

Arthur Leiden
Is a great physicist's son. He doesn't want to study physics, what was espected by his parents, because he believes that science in his century will lead to death. He goes to the seminary because he wants to influence people instead of influence science. Arthur has got a traumatic experience of the war. His brother died in the war against the Nazi's. The bomb, his father discovered, died milions of people. Arthur can't accept this. He feels guilty of the problems 'his father' caused. He thinks he has to makes up the problems his father and other scientists caused because of the bomb. So Arthur wants to go to Hiroshima and Kyoto. Arthur wants to go to Kyoto because this place is saved for the bomb. His mother had found a lot of reasons to save this place, because of the beautiful culture in the city. (His mother teaches history of art.) When the bomb felt on Hiroshima, Arthur saw a lot of dead birds in the garden, after that, there were no living birds anymore. Everywhere he walks, he is fixed on living birds. In Hiroshima, he feels helpless and terrible. Arthur is very glad that he is not alone. The frienship between Arthur and Gershon is very strange. They are not very closed friends. Arthur and Gershon are totally different. Gershon is a closeness boy, who can't really help other people. He doesn't really help Arthur when Arthur needs him. Arthur is the opposite of Gershon. He is like a 'sponge'. He 'absorbs' all the problems, he is too sensitive and he can't forget things which happened in the past. Arthur probably doesn't want to live and he would committed suicide if he wasn't killed in an accident. He wants answers because now he feels guilty and suffers terrible depression. At het end, he knows that there will be no answers on his questions.

Professor Malkuson and Professor Keter
Are both two very important persons in the development of Gershon's life. Malkuson teaches the Talmud, the by every Jew respected course. Jacob Keter teaches the Kaballah, the study of the Jewish Mysticism.

Explanation of the title