The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth
"The Conversion of the Jews" is a short story by Philip Roth that explores themes of faith, authority, and the quest for understanding within the context of Jewish identity. The narrative centers on a young boy named Ozzie Freedman, who is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah at a Hebrew school. Ozzie's inquisitive nature leads him to challenge his rabbi, Marvin Binder, on traditional beliefs, particularly regarding God's omnipotence and the concept of the virgin birth in Christianity. This tension escalates into a crisis during a class discussion, ultimately resulting in Ozzie's dramatic standoff atop the synagogue roof. The story captures Ozzie's struggle against religious dogma and the expectations placed upon him, as he demands acknowledgment of his beliefs from those around him. The culmination of his actions serves as a powerful commentary on the intersection of faith, rebellion, and the search for truth within personal and communal contexts. Roth's work invites readers to reflect on the complexities of belief and the pressures of conformity in religious upbringing.
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The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth
First published: 1958
Type of plot: Coming of age
Time of work: The 1950's
Locale: An American city
Principal Characters:
Oscar (Ozzie) Freedman , a thirteen-year-old Jewish studentMrs. Freedman , his widowed motherItzie Lieberman , his friend and classmateRabbi Marvin Binder , a thirty-year-old Hebrew teacherYakov Blotnik , a seventy-one-year-old synagogue custodian
The Story
Ozzie Freedman has been attending a synagogue Hebrew school in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah confirmation. He is a bright student, but entirely too inquisitive for the comfort of his teacher, Rabbi Marvin Binder. Binder is irritated by Ozzie's inability to accept traditional doctrinal answers to fundamental religious questions, and he has summoned Mrs. Freedman three times to discuss her son's disruptive influence on his class.
During the Wednesday afternoon class prior to their third scheduled meeting, tensions between Ozzie and Binder precipitate a crisis. Earlier, Ozzie resisted Binder's facile dismissal of Christian claims for the divinity of Jesus. He was also dissatisfied with Binder's explanation for an airplane crash and for why Jews were particularly grieved over the number of Jews on board. Now they clash over the issue of God's omnipotence.
During the free discussion period, none of the boys volunteers any comments or questions. Binder, however, sensing that Ozzie has something on his mind, goads him into speaking. Ozzie wants to know why, if God can do absolutely anything, it was not possible for Him to have arranged a virgin birth for Jesus. His insistence that Binder does not know what he is talking about provokes an uproar in the class and an angry reaction from the rabbi.
When Binder slaps him, Ozzie runs up onto the roof of the synagogue. The fire department is summoned, and Ozzie soon finds himself looking down at a growing crowd of spectators. Binder first demands and then pleads that Ozzie come down from the roof, but Ozzie's fellow students cheer his stand against the rabbi and urge him to jump. Ozzie's mother, arriving for her appointment with Binder, becomes part of his audience.
Stimulated by this unexpected turn of events, Ozzie exerts his power over the assembled crowd. He declares that he will jump off the building unless everyone—Binder, his mother, the students, the firefighters, even pious old Yakov Blotnik the synagogue's custodian—kneels before him on the ground. Then he demands that Binder and all the others acknowledge vocally that they believe "God can make a child without intercourse." Finally, after exacting a promise that no one will ever be punished because of God, Ozzie descends—by jumping into the yellow net held up by the kneeling firefighters below.
Bibliography
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Halio, Jay L., and Ben Siegel, eds. "Turning Up the Flame": Philip Roth's Later Novels. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2004.
Lee, Hermione. Philip Roth. London: Methuen, 1982.
Milbauer, Asher Z., ed. Reading Philip Roth. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
Pinsker, Sanford. The Comedy That "Hoits": An Essay on the Fiction of Philip Roth. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1975.
Pinsker, Sanford, ed. Critical Essays on Philip Roth. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1982.
Rodgers, Bernard F., Jr. Philip Roth. Boston: Twayne, 1978.
Schechner, Mark. After the Revolution: Studies in the Contemporary Jewish American Imagination. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.
Schechner, Mark. "Up Society's Ass, Copper": Rereading Philip Roth. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003.
Shostak, Debra. Philip Roth—Countertexts, Counterlives. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004.